Maryna Mazur
She is a graduate of the Institute of Visual Arts at the University of Zielona Góra and the University of the Arts Poznań, where she completed her diploma in the Intaglio Printing Studio under Professor Piotr Szurek. She defended her doctoral dissertation in 2018 at the Faculty of Graphics and Visual Communication at the University of the Arts Poznań. She is an Assistant Professor in the Third Graphics Studio at the Magdalena Abakanowicz University of the Arts Poznań, as well as in the Graphics Studio – Intaglio and Relief Printing at the Institute of Visual Arts, University of Zielona Góra. She has participated in the Polish Graphics Triennale (2012, 2015, 2018), the International Print Triennial in Kraków (2013), and numerous solo and group exhibitions in Poland and abroad, including in Germany, Japan, Austria, China, Romania, Greece and the United States.
Her artistic practice encompasses graphics, painting, photography and object-based work. She is particularly interested in continually redefined relationships between the public and private spheres, especially the elusive ‘in-between’ — boundaries shaped by individual perception and experience. Her work engages with these issues while considering a range of diverse, often non-obvious contexts.
Do Not Fill In! (2025)
Year: 2025
Venue: Archiwum Idei, Poznań; Postcard from the Province, BWA Zielona Góra
Wymiary: 39×72 cm
A fragment of an Excel table – a grid of cells that, in reality, contains over a million rows and several thousand columns – refers to the idea of a closed system and controlled space, typically represented through forms, sheets, and documents. On one hand, the table symbolizes order, but its absurd scale simultaneously renders it chaotic and beyond control. Stripped of commands and separated from its original function, it is freed from purpose, obligation, and even the possibility of being filled in. It ceases to be a tool for systematization, becoming an autonomous form that liberates itself.
Impasse (2024)
Year: 2024
Venue: Lotna Premia, Municipal Gallery Arsenał, Poznań
Dimensions: 4 objects, 16×19,5 cm
This series of metal plates is based on the schema of the Turing test – an online tool that verifies users by requiring them to confirm they are not robots via a “I’m not a robot” checkbox. This seemingly banal procedure reveals a mechanism of coercion, forcing individuals to declare their identity and submit to arbitrary categories. A paradox emerges: the human must “report” to the machine, proving they are not a robot. The checkboxes, which suggest neutrality, in fact define a closed field of predefined responses, limiting the possibility of authentic self-identification. The work’s durable material emphasizes the permanence and finality of such statements.
Double Everydayness (2023)
Year: 2023
Venue: Czarne Tło, Nowy Wiek Gallery, Zielona Góra
Dimensions: 225×200 cm
The work reflects how the topic of war gradually loses its impact and blends into everyday life, both because of diminishing media attention and our own indifference. Denial and avoidance of difficult issues often become survival strategies, though the underlying fear persists. Double Everydayness carries ambivalent meanings: on one hand, it evokes a sense of safety, while on the other, it hints at the looming threat of catastrophe in times of constant danger. This tension is subtly conveyed on the delicate, airy fabric as a shadow.
