Dominik Jan Gralak (1985), HOCUS POCUS, 2023

acrylic, spray, oil pastels, newspaper/canvas,160 x 215 cm
signed p.d.: DOMINIK / JAN GRALAK
signed, dated and described on the back:
"HOCUS POCUS" / DOMINIK JAN / GRALAK / TWO THOUSAND / TWENTY THREE

EXHIBITED:
- Unexpected me, Wanda Czelkowska Studio, Warsaw 2023

Dominik Jan Gralak graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Wroclaw. His painting draws attention to the liveliness inherent in street art through a clear gesture, pure, bright color, the media used (sprays), as well as through the inscriptions and signs introduced into the composition, imitating graffiti typography.

Dominik Jan Gralak's expressive painting, dominated by blue, takes us to Morocco. However, it is not a postcard from an exotic place, but a painting - a freedom manifesto, which is an affirmation of female independence. The heroine of the show is a mysterious woman. Although the veil that hides her face "represents social expectations and the restrictions imposed on her" - as the artist explains - in the composition it ceases to be "a sign of oppression" and even "emphasizes the strength and individuality" of the woman. "The painting "Hocus Pocus" serves as a celebration of women's strength in the face of discrimination, combining the cultural richness of Morocco with the magic of individual strength," - Gralak says. The painter enriched his visual narrative with graffiti-like inscriptions. The artist invites viewers to reflect on social stereotypes and issues of cultural identity.

It seems magical and symbolic that the painting "Hocus Pocus" was exhibited in 2023 in the Warsaw studio of Wanda Czełkowska - an artist and woman with an unquestionably strong personality.