Collection

I Am Sorry is one of many self-portraits by the artist. It depicts a psychological state following an attack of anger. An act of aggression aimed at a person close to her, and the accompanying negative emotions, are symbolized by military equipment: an airplane, a helicopter, and a tank. The heroine’s embarrassed profile and the title I’m Sorry suggest that the outburst is accompanied by pangs of conscience. Bartoszek usually gives her works suggestive titles, which may guide the viewer toward a specific interpretation. Despite the modest dimensions and the sketch-like composition, the canvas carries a big emotional charge, as stressed by the expression strokes and the fiery colour scheme. This was one of the artist’s first oil paintings.

Visual artist, poet. Her practice includes oil painting, drawing, poetry and performance. She alludes to the tradition of existentialism and also raises highly contemporary issues: creation and dissemination of one’s own image and the relation to technical innovations. If she uses humour, it is in the form of provocative decadence. Bartoszek has published two volumes of poetry: Niebieski dwór [Blue Court] (Disastra Publishing, 2016) and Klucz wisi na słońcu [The Key Hangs in the Sun] (WBPiCAK, 2021). The heroine of Łukasz Ronduda’s film A Heart of Love (2017) was based on Zuzanna Bartoszek. She lives and works in Warsaw.