Łukasz Gierlak (b. 1985), Untitled , 2023

Literature
"But sometimes, too, what the aging man perceived with triumph, with giddiness as well as with horror, he would turn his head draggingly and slowly or quickly and suddenly, as if it were a matter of surprise, over his left shoulder towards the place of his admirer. He did not meet his eyes, as shameful apprehension forced the stray to hold his gaze fearfully. In the depths of the terrace sat the women who guarded Tadzio, and it came to the point that the infatuated man had to fear lest he should fall into sight and draw suspicion upon himself."
T. Mann, Death in Venice, transl. L. Staff, Wrocław: Wydawnictwo Dolnośląskie, 1996, p. 72.
"Death in Venice" is considered the most important short story written by Thomas Mann. The novella, published in 1912, was considered very innovative and daring, and this is because it deals with the homosexual theme of platonic love between a fifty-year-old man and a young boy.
Initially, the story can be considered disturbing. However, after analyzing it in depth, one can conclude that it is an amazing story about the contrast of youth and old age. The protagonist, looking at the young man, knows that he will never again be what that one is. Seductive glances are all the main character can afford. Through the eye, glorified carnality delights; the metaphysics of the eye remains an unrealized approximation, the only form of intimacy that survives as unfulfilled desire. The gaze, the opportunity to look, to see the beloved, idealized image, provides both the guarantee of fulfillment and realizes the enormity of insufficiency....
The evoked image of adoration evokes a sense of intimidation associated with the gaze reaching the object of sighs. Gustav Aschenbach, escaping from the persistently recurring direct eye contact, plays the coquettish game of a lover - he stares, while at the same time this gazing is supposed to remain a mystery. The fascination of young Tadz, could have caused outrage and moral scandal, also becomes fodder for both vitality and bitterness.
Mann's story combines the classic figure of two Freudian drives - Eros and Tanatos. Gustav von Aschenbach's behavior, is seized by sensual fascination, which eventually became one of the causes of the writer's sudden death. The enervated man played a double game, flitting between desire and shame. The eyes were both a source of distress and a source of suffering. The ideal body of a young man, given to repressed passion, caged by culture, caused nervous panic, fear of scandal, but at the same time triggered and discovered a forgotten pleasure. Although it is a veritable torture for many people, we live in a society with certain moral rules. And certain relationships will never be accepted. Such was the case here. A mature 50-year-old man could not even dream of having a relationship with a 15-year-old pretty boy. The public would never forgive him for such a relationship.
In the painting presented at the auction. we see a well-built man with his face covered by a mask. However, this is not a Venetian-style mask, but rather a mirror in which, like a lens, the man's surroundings are reflected. In the reflection, we see a group of people who are watching him with curiosity as well. This is how we are constructed, we watch and are watched by others. Even when we put on various social masks, pretend to be someone other than we actually are, the attentive observers, will unmask us. In their eyes, we will even be naked. This is the case with the painting by Luksz Gierlak.