Untitled (83)

Slawomir Elsner (b. 1976) uses photographs, often taken from newspapers and his own snap-shots, as source images for his paintings and drawings. Meticulously copying them, to the extent that imperfections in the photographic process can be relayed, Elsner presents a contemporary approach to recasting imagery from the media and popular culture into his own artistic expression. The transference of images from medium to medium blurs the lines of reality, creating emotional and intellectual distance for the viewer who is confronted with images of the Iraq war and modern day life and demonstrating how artistic intervention can aestheticize any subject. In an exhibition titled "Poles Apart" at the Rubell Family Collection, Elsner presented beautifully hued images of stark, residential urban houses--the only signs of life conveyed in the satellite dishes that jut out from the anonymous facades.