In Jakub Julian Ziółkowski’s surrealist world one can detect the survival of a faith in the power of the mysterious affinities which link together different substances and creatures, human and the supernatural – these are the tensions that drive his paintings. Taking a multicultural approach, compromised of Native American, Buddhist, and Aboriginal origins, Ziółkowski merges these together to create a kaleidoscope of powerful ideas and symbols. From these many cultures, he often uses religious talismans (which are painted on or glued on) that become portals to his ever changing and growing mind. His dynamic works toe the line between classic figuration and abstraction (much like the colors, shapes, and spiritual inquiry of a Hilma af Klint painting). Ziółkowski uses a mixed media approach (of gouache, oil paint, and the three-dimensional incorporations) to abstract what we are used to seeing, creating a fantastical, in-depth world, which dares us to question spirituality and secular life.

Jakub Julian Ziółkowski (*1980 in Zamość, Poland) has premiered for numerous group and solo exhibitions since 2003, including Hauser & Wirth, London (2017), Neues Museum Nürnberg (2017), Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Collection (2021), Marian Goodman Gallery (2016), 55th Biennale di Venezia (2013), 8th Gwangju Biennale (2011), White Cube (2011), and The New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York (2009). He lives and works in Kraków.