The presented works belong to my series Oxydation. The project comes from a deep need to stay close to nature and to observe slow processes that unfold over time — especially corrosion, which I see not as a destructive process, but as a creative force capable of generating new forms.
Artists have always observed nature, learned from it, and found inspiration in its processes. However, in my Oxydationseries, I want to go one step further. I want not only to observe nature, but also to offer it something new — to go beyond the limits of what seems possible. To make rust appear on paper instead of metal.
Rather than using rusting metal itself, I bring the process of corrosion onto unusual surfaces — canvas and cardboard. I work with Fe Blend, a medium containing metal particles, which I use like paint to create a layered ground. On this prepared surface, I activate rust in carefully selected areas that are part of my composition.
I also paint directly with rust collected from old nails, and sometimes I press rusty, discarded objects onto the surface — inviting rust to leave its natural environment and enter the space of the painting.
This is a deliberate and unexpected gesture: allowing corrosion to appear where it would not normally exist.
In this way, a dialogue begins between nature and me. First, I observe its processes and use them in my art. Then I change the conditions in which these processes can happen, offering nature new possibilities. Finally, I give nature a voice — allowing it to transform what I have created.
Rust becomes not only a material, but also a trace of memory — a painting tool and a co-author of the image.
I do not stop this process. I don’t know how the work will change over time, which parts will be taken over by rust, or how far it will spread across the surface I have carefully prepared. I accept this unpredictability and the loss of full control over my work.
I finish the painting, but I don’t end the process of its creation. Nature continues my work, and I become an observer of the changes I have started.
The works in the Oxydation series are based on a minimalist and structural visual language. They are created using my own technique, combining iron-based pigment and activated rust on recycled cardboard. They explore the relationship between repetition, material traces, and the erosion of the surface.
Rhythmic compositions and subtle contrasts suggest the passage of time, as if recording an imprint or a memory held within the material.
The visual language of these works draws from experimental printmaking, conceptual painting, and the aesthetics of decay and the passage of time.
In this work, for the first time, I introduced metal elements that emerge from recessed cuts, extending beyond the surface of the painting.
