Kasia Bytnerowicz's Threadbare
by Michael St.Germain

In this intelligent and poetic work, the artist has effectively established connections and relationships between the subject of the painting, a delicately rendered shirt draped over a line, and the materials out of which it (the painting) is made...

The artist has intentionally "loosened up" the weave of the linen on which the image is painted by removing some of its threads and by arranging others into an undulating pattern. Even though Kasia has stated that she undertook these changes to exaggerate the texture of the fabric, it appears that her modifications have also had the effect of presenting the linen support as if it is in a threadbare state...

The unique nature of this linen support literally makes the painting transparent. The wooden stretcher bars "frame" the work from behind and echo the geometric composition of the shirt. The shirt, sensitively rendered in white paint, cannot conceal the wall behind. It is simply too threadbare: especially in its unpainted shadow areas ...

The raw earthiness of the unpainted linen canvas economically represents the shadow areas within the shirt and the atmosphere around the shirt. This simultaneous structural (it holds the paint) and illusive use of the support is reminiscent of the working methods employed by the old masters in making drapery studies.

Note: Kasia has a website www.kasiabytnerowicz.com and can be reached via email kbytnerowicz@rcn.com