‘The Issue of Office Bacteria’ by Stachu Szumski at Polana Institute, Warsaw

The instrumental dimension of the coexistence of late-capitalist bodies displays a nervous structure. In this instance, the promise of full standardization comes up against an infestation of aesthetic norms, office microbiota, and the decomposition of commercial intentions.

”The Issue of Office Bacteria” is the artist’s first solo show at the Polana Institute. Stach Szumski marches into traditional office spaces and infects them with his artwork.

The show marks a turn towards abstract form and the deconstruction of the artist’s earlier figurativism. Juxtaposed with the dominant aesthetic norms of the office world, Szumski’s disturbing structures produce a peculiar visual tension. By alluding to bacteria and microbiota—invisible at first glance—they offer an allegory for the decomposition that affects all matter. The superficial sterility hides nanostructures and teeming life forms, undisturbed by standards of cleanliness. The paintings and sculptures displayed at the exhibition are visualizations of the invisible, in both the physical and metaphysical senses.