Wilhelm Sasnal

Polish painter and filmmaker Wilhelm Sasnal has emerged over the last two decades as one of Europe's preeminent contemporary artists. This major monograph offers a comprehensive assessment of his practice. Renowned for his powerful portrayals of our collective culture and history, Wilhelm Sasnal draws on found images from his surroundings, newspapers and magazines, billboards, and the Internet, creating works of art that act as an archive to the mass of sprawling images that flood contemporary life. His work addresses weighty historical themes such as the Holocaust, or familiar pop-cultural icons, as well as the people, places, and quotidian objects he encounters, constituting an artistic document of postcommunist Poland at a time of sociopolitical transformation. With a concise approach to his subject matter, Sasnal captures stolen moments in time. His graphic treatment of light and color suggests a camera's gaze, imbuing the canvases with a filmic quality. This major volume is completed by a series of essays addressing significant themes in the artist's work: alienation, portraiture, the personal versus the public, and history as a prism of reflection.