Pawel Franciszek JASKUŁA (b. 1993), Balenciaga (from the Aurum series), 2022

Balenciaga, 2022 (from the Aurum project)
Own technique, oil, canvas; 100 x 80.5 cm;
Signed, dated and described on the back: Paweł Jaskuła/ Balenciaga 2022 and numerous author's stamps.

Paweł Franciszek Jaskuła is a graduate of the University of Arts in Poznań, Faculty of Painting. In 2015-2017, he was an assistant in the studio of Prof. Jozef Walczak. Since 2019, he has been a member of the astronomical-art group Good Night Collective. In 2021, he submitted a thesis to the photography department of UAP, written under the supervision of Dr. Ewa Wójtowicz. The thesis dealt with the analysis of creative conditions and motivations both in the context of art education and the art market. Its title "Aurum. The one million art project" was directed at examining, among other things, the role of money, capitalism and gold understood as currency, but also the foundations of culture. The artist addresses the issue of pursuing the goal of wealth by means of conjuring reality, creating contemporary mythology or downplaying the impact on mental health or the environment - in a word: at any cost. The artist created a fundraiser, where the target amount was just one million zlotys and becoming a rich artist. Jaskuła currently continues the theme of money in his art, creating affirmative as well as ironic works, mainly paintings.