Jean Bachynsky
The Artist
Jean Bachynsky is an established sculptor based in Winnipeg Manitoba.
She explores the human figure in all of its emotional complexities and physical contradiction and inherent beauty. Her exploration of these is evident in both her choice of material and the execution of her work.
Bachynsky’s sculpture is never simply a reproduction of a figure, but rather she creates a malleable form that bends and twists to convey a sense of motion and emotion through its gesture. She explores the human condition with its’ inherent emotional, physical, and sexual contradictions through her focus on the androgynous form.
The juxtaposition of the soft curvilinear human body is interpreted in a hard material, stone. Bachynsky typically works in alabaster sourced from various parts of the world but also in other stones such as chlorite and serpentine. Man/ Woman as a soft form is captured in a material that implies its’ opposite.
Her use of posture, stance and gesture are critical. Balance is paramount. Bachynsky’s work is often larger in scale. Her intrigue with the contrast of the curvilinear elegance with powerful position and scale is apparent in each of her sculptures. Her figures dominate and anchor space.
Light is significant to her creations and would appear to be integral to her material selections. She generates the element of light by actual penetration, finish and in some cases by the use of translucent stone.
The juxtaposition of finish and the lucidity of the stone allows the viewer to see deep into the form while suggesting a skeletal, if not lacy and fragile system.