MARTA CZOK: IN MEMORIAM
Articles, images, comments
PRESS TRIBUTES
A selection of international articles in memory of Marta Czok.
ARTRIBUNE (It): "Marta Czok is dead. The stateless artist who painted to reflect on migration and a sense of community".
EXIBART MAGAZINE (It): "Goodbye to Marta Czok, art as testimony to the human condition."
FAKT MAGAZINE (Pl): "An exceptional Polish painter died in Italy. She was not afraid to denounce social injustices and her works became a manifesto for human rights"
ONET (Pl): "Marta Czok, one of the most important Polish painters, died on February 6 in Italy. She died as she lived: creating."
SEGNO MAGAZINE (It): "Goodbye to Marta Czok. Last Thursday 6 February the Polish artist Marta Czok passed away. Her life, as her son declared, came to an end while w
INTERIA STYL MAGAZINE (Pl): "The painter Marta Czok has died. She worked on her latest canvas until the end."
MARTA CZOK'S STUDIO
Fondazione Marta Czok has commissioned photographer Carlotta Domenici De Luca to document the studio of Marta Czok, exactly how she left it.
COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC
A selection of tributes from fans and collectors.
"A woman and artist is leaving us, who attempted to bring the subtleties of a world in turmoil (both geographical-political and internal) onto canvas, from the first works with brighter colours to the most recent, apparent balance of pastel nuances..." R.C.
"MacS Museum remembers with immense affection Marta Czok, an extraordinary woman and an artist of immense talent. Her vision has left an indelible mark on the art world, touching the souls of those who had the privilege of knowing her and admiring her works." MacS Contemporary Art Museum of Sicily
"Dear Marta, now that you see the colors of the Sky you will be amazed and you will want to come back down here to re-paint them, but up there where everything is Unique and Eternal you will be able to enjoy infinite and irreproducible colors on earth. From here down here, we will continue to admire the artistic jewels that you have left us! Thank you God for having given her to us and for the talent you have given her!" L.D.
I will never forget the day I fell in love with Marta's works and since then they have always had a great place in my heart. But I am also grateful to her and her husband for the great humanity they have shown, for their availability, generosity, for the absolute absence of preconceptions. Which are then the emotional, ideological and existential coordinates of the work - strongly political - that Marta expresses in her works. Since then, for me one thing has become fundamental: the inseparability between art and life. Marta Czok paintings that is. For me a great artist, but also a great woman, to whom I owe a lot. Thank you Marta. B.C.
"Fly happily with the kite. I had the honor of knowing you, the privilege of living among your works, you enriched my imagination and my knowledge. It saddens me to have to part with your kindness, sweetness, your biting irony and powerful social denunciation. Happy flying." L.M.
"Hi Marta, it was an honour to meet you and feel part of the world that animates your canvases. Gnomes, dragons, politicians, kites, priests, passing through tanks, planes, bombs and people eager for redemption for a better life. Your works will continue to denounce the distortions of this world, indicating to us and those who come after that there is always a redemption. Thank you Marta for everything you have constantly and tenaciously denounced, demonstrating to the world the power of a paintbrush. Goodbye great Marta." G.P.
"I was sorry to hear about the loss of this extraordinary artist, even though with her works she will always remain alive in our hearts and reflected in our eyes, thanks to the beauty of the colours and characters of her paintings." G.R.
"I loved her art from the first work I saw and since that day her works have always been present in our gallery, the regret remains of not having had the opportunity to know her personally, not even during the exhibition dedicated to her and strangely I miss her as if I had lost a friend. When an artist manages to create intimate bonds through her work she is "THE ARTIST". M.B.
"May the earth be light to you, gentle and always polite soul. We remain orphans of a great artist" D.O.
"Marta Czok is a "true" artist, each of her works is unique and different. Each painting is a moment, a feeling, a voice. The images of everyday life, the kitchens, the cakes, the chubby grandmothers are delicate and recall the figures and deep bonds that mark us in childhood, but personally I find exceptional the way in which Marta Czok has managed to represent the most disturbing and cruel aspects of history and of our time: the tragedy of the Holocaust, of lives devastated by war, by prejudice and discrimination, the brutality of having to leave one's homeland and then corruption and pollution, there is so much harmony and elegance in these courageous works, typical of reserved women but extraordinarily capable of making their voices heard." G.S.
"Marta Czok's paintings entered my life by chance, many years ago and since then, every day, they tell themselves and speak to me about the history and emotions of each of us or the moods of the world, with the beauty of their images and their colors and with a unique poetry and irony. Since then they have accompanied me in everyday life, making it unique." R.R.
"We became acquainted with the works of the artist Marta Czok many years ago and were immediately won over by the witty way in which she puts the "vices" of State and Church power under the magnifying glass, the "exciting crudeness" with which she narrates the war and the drama of the Shoah, the irony with which she recounts everyday life. On the occasion of an exhibition at the Carlo Bilotti Museum we had the honor of meeting the artist and it was like having known her always. Intelligent, brilliant and sensitive woman capable of conveying emotions as her works do." A.& P. D. V.
"I am a cancer patient. I spend a lot of time in hospital but when I come home, as soon as I enter the living room, the first thing I do is admire Marta Czok's works. They immediately make me feel good, they give me so much joy. I admire her very much, Marta Czok is truly a great artist, I only own five of her works but I feel lucky because her works fill my heart with beauty." N.P.
"A complete, sensitive and profound artist. It is a great loss for those who had the privilege of knowing and appreciating her works." L.B.
"My love at first sight for Marta Czok dates back to several years ago... Her biting irony, always in perfect balance with her delicacy, energetically encouraged me to reflect... without ever shouting and without ever being banal. Entering into her works was fun, stimulating, surprising... I really liked thinking about her at work and I eagerly awaited the moment when Valter would look for me to invite me to see what new she had invented. I recognized an unprecedented feminist revolution in Marta's art. The female figures he painted are free, strong, ironic, sagacious, never bound to pre-established roles; always aware of themselves and without any need to assert themselves "against" anyone. I am in love with the women painted by Marta. Adults, teenagers or children. I find them splendid and I imagine they have a lot of Marta. I will take refuge in them to try to hear the echo of the void that Marta is leaving less deafening. With undying gratitude, I will continue to be moved astonished by that incredible silent force that his works can unleash, entering me like a firm fist and then reaching my soul with a very sweet whisper. Goodbye Marta. Deeply thank you. Have a good rest." M.P.C.
"Marta Czok, our friend, a distinguished painter of Polish origin, lived in Italy. It was with the exhibition of her paintings that we began the exhibition activities of our Foundation in 2017. She was present at the vernissage with her daughter Sławka, and the inauguration ceremony of the exhibition took place at the Italian Cultural Institute, in the presence of the Italian Ambassador. Almost 8 years have passed since those memorable, extremely touching moments. During this period we have exhibited 6 other large exhibitions in museums and galleries in different Polish cities. This year we are planning an exhibition in Krakow, at the International Cultural Center, at the Main Market. Marta Czok has been waiting for this exhibition, we are carrying out the project." PAW - Polish Artists in the World
"I am so sad about the death of Marta Czok. She wrote to me in her emails that there was always room for a joke, at least a sentence, like nothing, and it was funny, it made me smile at the screen. Marta, extremely brilliant, who made fun of ordinary and very holy things. Light, graceful and simply beautiful. I am so happy to have met Marta, to have been able to speak with her in Polish, to have understood very much everything she talked about and I felt good with her. Thank you for everything that do in memory of one of the greatest painters." H.M.
"We are artistically orphans of all the magnificent things he could have done. Delicate and original!" L.S.