Krzysztof Marchlak on Painting, Photography, and Queer Identity in Poland

Polish artist Krzysztof Marchlak (b. 1987, Żelechów) is the subject of a solo exhibition "Melting Reality" at UFO Art Gallery in Kraków, curated by Maria Ciborowska, running until the end of March. The show presents paintings featuring organic, vaguely figurative forms in pastel tones reminiscent of hentai aesthetics and cotton candy carts, with phallic motifs, tropical flower spadices, and anatomical residues that appear to liquefy before the viewer. Clouds or sky in the background anchor the compositions. Marchlak, who also works in artistic photography, began photographing to engage with the LGBT ideology debate in Poland. His series "I would give you my heart" (2018-20) and "Dreamers" (2019-20) address queer identity. He contributed to the first issue of "Boys! Boys! Boys!" magazine published by London's Little Black Gallery. Marchlak discusses the challenges of queer photography being relegated to a niche, the hostile climate for sexual minorities in Poland (including the 2019 attacks on Białystok Pride and "LGBT-free zones"), and his use of passports to cover models' genitals in his photo series as a symbol of the universal desire to find one's place in the world. He notes that his painting has become less material and more colorful, influenced by his photography, and embraces kitsch as seen in the work of Pierre et Gilles. The interview was conducted by Giuseppe Sedia in Marchlak's new studio in an old building near Kazimierz, Kraków's Jewish quarter.