Monika Blaszkowska, „an architect by education, a nomad designer by avocation”, recognised the decorative qualities of amber several years ago. The first in her „amber collection” was a lamp with an amber lampshade alluding to postmodern loft style, which premiered at the main exhibition of the 2018 Venice Biennale of Architecture and Art. This was followed by a table top made of resin in which nuggets of amber were poured - a concept that generated a lot of interest at the Import Export Trades in Shanghai in 2018. The first „amber successes” resulted in a desire for further experimentation - a wave of admiration for the ornamental possibilities offered by the gold of the North led to further projects: amber-decorated doorknobs and furniture handles, as well as amber dividers.
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A special place in her „amber oeuvre” is occupied by relief paintings, in which the main decorative element is amber - both Baltic amber and other types of fossil resins that captivate with their natural beauty. She combines it with jewellery stones, natural minerals and fossils, but also with other elements, sometimes as surprising as colourful Lego people or plastic animal figurines, to create immersive and sometimes even mesmerising worlds of multicolour, three-dimensionality and tranquillity, but also evoking a smile.
Monika Blaszkowska's latest works can be seen in an exhibition perversely entitled „Amber Chamber” at the ZPAP Dom Liter Gallery in Gdańsk. It consists of 12 paintings, tables and a hand-painted wardrobe. The paintings come from three collections: the playful, colourful and pop-art „Let's play”, with a large number of self-cast pieces in the form of Lego people or small houses made of... concrete, „My Preciuos” with paintings decorated not only with amber, but also with wild pearls, meteorites and gemstones. From the third collection entitled „Cebularze” comes a painting that is a commentary on the phenomenon of domestic violence, featuring pieces of amber and... onion skins. The ornament of the exhibition is a richly decorated table made in high gloss with amber, walnut shells and mica.
With her projects, Monika Blaszkowska has repeatedly proven that a multitude of interesting objects can be made from amber, not only the jewellery commonly associated with it. Although she also makes a valuable contribution to the creation of jewellery with amber - her plastryko, a version of her furniture plates made of recycled plastic with sunken pieces of amber modified for jewellery purposes, adorns the simple, geometric forms of earrings and brooches designed by Tomasz Kargul, bringing out a spectacular effect. For this project, the duo received an award in a competition for the best jewellery in terms of design and quality AMBERIF SELECTION 2023.
Her projects are part of the trend of using amber in public space, which is becoming more and more visible in Gdańsk and which she herself strongly promotes and realises in her own innovative way. As an interior designer she eagerly „smuggles” amber into private dwellings - mainly in the form of paintings, furniture handles, tables, but also the multiple use of PVC furniture boards in which amber is embedded as a decorative element - but also into public institutions - she also placed an amber-decorated bench, flower pot, and bathroom countertop in a dentist's surgery. Another project she will be involved in is the conversion of the Market Hall in Gdańsk into a food hall. Her participation in the project will involve the preparation of furniture boards, which will be created from, among other things, the recycled remains of the existing hall. With amber, of course.
„Amber Chamber” - solo exhibition by Monika Blaszkowska
ZPAP House of Letters Gallery, Gdansk
6.07 – 25.08.2024
