Maria Stenforsis delighted to present Mela Yerka'ssecond solo show at the gallery. The exhibition title derivesfrom Neil Armstrong'ssecond sentence on the surface of the Moon. It issincere and full of the joy of exploration, but remains barely known, inevitably overshadowed by his more famous utterance.

Yerka's portrait paintings capture 19th Century women—aristocrats, writers, actresses, models, courtesans—and the stories of their livesremembered in history only through their intimate relationships with prominent men of the time. Each of the women craved personal freedom and social appreciation, but in pursuit of it had to rely on male lust and love. Using these stories as a starting point, Yerka creates work that comesto embody the struggle for individuality.

In her landscapes, Yerka looks at the human drive to prove oneself and explore. The paintings are inspired by the planned colonisation of Mars—a journey not into the unknown, but for the sake of experiencing and seeing more. Yerka's Martian landscapes are not immediately discernible in daylight, but once covered in darkness, a vast and mysterious extraterrestrial landscape isrevealed. Light paintsthe picture here: flat, abstractsurfaces are defined by reflected daylight, while dramatic, rocky vistas are shaped by the glowing light emitted from the painting.

Yerka playfully combines varioustechniques, art motifs and surprising references, using each story as an opportunity to reinterpret art history and explore its contemporary vantage point. Empty, captivating gazes and blank, flat bodiesform uneasy portraitsthat are difficult to place in time. The landscapesfrom Mars deceive the viewer's visual perception with rocks and mountains made of light—appearing in the vacuum and conforming to some unearthly laws ofspace. The diverse worksin the exhibition reveal hidden landscapes and vivid colours, while the various materials—wax, oil colours, acrylic paint, marble dust or fluorescent pigment—allserve one purpose: to unsettle and defamiliarise the viewer.

Mela Yerka was born in Poland and lives and worksin London. Afterstudying at the Academy of Fine Arts, Warsaw,she graduated from Central St Martins College of Art, London, in 2011. Mela Yerka'ssolo exhibition 'What red blue isin?' was held at Maria Stenforsin 2013. She has also exhibited as part of 'Young galleries presentation', Maria Stenfors, Art13, London and in 'part isfame [art as game] at Schleifmuehlgasse 12-14 in Vienna, Austria in 2014.

Maria Stenfors

Unit 10, 21 Wren Street
London WC1X 0HF United Kingdom
Ph. +44 (0)20 78370819
info@mariastenfors.com
www.mariastenfors.com

Opening hours

Tuesday - Friday from 11am to 6pm
Saturday from 11am to 3pm or by appointment

Related images

1, 2, & 3 Mela Yerka, And the—the surface isfine and powdery, installation view, photography by: Lee James Thompson
4 Mela Yerka, Rachel Felix, 2014, Acrylic, oil, egg tempera and marble dust on linen, 90 x 60 cm, photography by: Lee James Thompson
5 Mela Yerka, Lola Montez, 2014, Oil and marble dust on linen, 120 x 80 cm, photography by: Lee James Thompson
6 Mela Yerka, Laure Junot d’Abrantes, 2014, Oil, egg tempera and marble dust on linen, 90 x 70 cm, photography by: Lee James Thompson