Christine König Galerie, Vienna

The presented series of drawings consists of eight portraits in which the titular „Middleman“ plays various roles, while at the same time being a sort of a puppet in the artist’s hands. The hero is faceless, genderless and even bodiless – they balance among letters and shapes, tightly enclosed by the frame of a sheet of paper. Despite the titles, they ultimately become a nameless „everyman“ taking on various tasks, professions and functions: Liar, Poet, Typographer, Fearer, Juggler, Orange Seller, Pisser line up as representatives of sophisticated „professions“. Wobbly, but ultimately balanced, even if they are hanging upside down or holding their own head in their hands. The last in the series, King, which resembles an archaeological outcrop, lies decomposed among randomly scattered gold artifacts. They were the only one of the eight figures to lose their own form, becoming a slightly abstract drawing composed of lines, shapes and colors. This series of drawings was part of Honza Zamojski’s solo show „Middleman“, presented in 2023 at the International Centre of Graphic Arts (MGLC) in Ljubljana.

Honza Zamojski, born 1981 in Poland, lives and works in Poznan/Poland. 2002 – 2008 Studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznan (Graphic Design / Visual Communication) 2000 – 2002 Studies at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan (Philosophy and Culture Studies)

Christine König Galerie was founded in 1989 in Vienna. The gallery represents a variety of internationally recognized artists and works simultaneously with a decidedly younger generation of upcoming artists. The gallery’s program and its selection of the artists reflects the central concerns of Christine König: Politics and activism, feminism, literature, as well as post-conceptual approaches. In the last decades art has become a dominant field of action and discourse. Visual arts can help develop an understanding for socio-political and cultural processes of change. In a highly stimulating and productive climate, galleries have assumed the role of intermediaries, making a preliminary selection and using their intellectual resources in a responsible way to back and promote certain positions and artists vis-à-vis collectors.