Ewa Juszkiewicz Wraps Female Faces in Neo-Surrealist Portraits
Polish artist Ewa Juszkiewicz (born 1984 in Gdańsk) subverts traditional female portraiture by wrapping her subjects' faces in luxurious fabrics like silk and velvet, adorned with pearls and gems. Her neo-surrealist paintings critique the historical male gaze that rendered women passive objects of beauty. Drawing on 17th-century portrait conventions that showcased exotic goods from the New World, Juszkiewicz uses fabric to obscure emotion and gaze, creating a new visual language for femininity. The work echoes the Guerrilla Girls' 1989 manifesto asking whether women must be naked to enter the Metropolitan Museum, but Juszkiewicz employs elegant sarcasm rather than direct confrontation. Her wrapped figures deny viewers access to expression, instead emphasizing materiality and mystery. The artist plays with what is hidden and what remains unknown, transforming portraiture into a statement on memory and identity. The article was written by Floriana Savino and published on Collater.al.
Key facts
- Ewa Juszkiewicz was born in 1984 in Gdańsk, Poland.
- She wraps female faces in silk, velvet, pearls, and gems.
- Her work critiques the male-dominated history of female portraiture.
- The Guerrilla Girls' 1989 manifesto is referenced as a parallel.
- Juszkiewicz's paintings are described as neo-surrealist.
- She draws on 17th-century portrait traditions featuring exotic goods.
- Her approach uses elegant sarcasm rather than direct protest.
- The article was written by Floriana Savino for Collater.al.
Entities
Artists
- Ewa Juszkiewicz
- Floriana Savino
Institutions
- Guerrilla Girls
- Metropolitan Museum
- Collater.al
Locations
- Gdańsk
- Poland