Barbara Wesołowska: Empty Night | Michael Werner
For some strange reason, these paintings from Poland-born, London-based Barbara Wesołowska made me think of Victor Man. They’re tonally similar but technically very different: the Romanian mystic aims for figurative precision, Wesołowska for an earthy blurriness. Her figures, currently haunting the galleries at Michael Werner in Mayfair, are barely legible beneath the layers of chalk-like oil paint and shiny shellac.
But they’re there all the same, if you look for long enough, in person. Similar to man, her tones are dark and dense. Her semi-materialised figures, often in silhouette, seem cold and impassive. The atmosphere is that of a winter forest at night. It’s raining. But not quite empty, despite the exhibition’s title.
Another thing her scenes share with Man’s - I’m trying to figure out why they’re connected in my head - is a sense of mystical strangeness. The show notes have it right when describing them as “potent, emotionally charged”, though I think “infused with a sense of hope” is a bit too far. They seem to have brought some of the city atmosphere in from the streets outside: I saw the show at around 3pm on a grey January Saturday, with the night drawing in - already.
One thing Wesołowska gains from is being hosted by one of London’s most atmospheric exhibition spaces: the downstairs “Winter Garden” at Michael Werner. Aesthetically, her earthy paintings and their warm wooden surroundings reinforced each other, satisfyingly. Almost enough to make you miss a dark winter. Its rain. The forest.
Barbara Wesołowska: Empty Night is at Michael Werner (London). 27 November 2025 - 31 January 2026