Marek Silka

If I create from the heart, nearly everything works; if from the head, almost nothing. (Marc

Chagall)

The artwork Death and Maiden retraces one of the most famous topos of art in a new and contemporary key, that of the juxtaposition between a young woman and the personification of mortality. It is a Leitmotiv that has become proverbial, starting from the medieval allegorical representations that depicted the "triumph of death" over all humanity, up to the works of Klimt. Marek Silka does precisely this theme with a composition that is both "classic" and atypical: in fact, if on the one hand there is the reference to the symbology of youth undermined by the shadow of death, on the other there is a completely new and peculiar, starting with the choice of flat and material colors, which outline the figures in their essentiality. In a certain sense, this stylistic choice brings the two figures even closer, making them similar in shape as well. The woman's features are defined by white outlines, which simply sketch her face and body. Traditional representations of youth used to highlight the physicality of the young woman, who appeared even more energetic and voluptuous right next to the skeletal figure of death. In this case, the boundaries are less evident, and indeed death stands out more than the maiden. The artist seems to suggest an even more radical perspective, that of a death that not only hovers as a future threat, but also as a warning to the present capable of reducing even the most luxuriant living energy in an instant.

Art Curator Chiara Rizzatti