Maria Janiga - essay

12 February 2026

The spatial creations of Maria Janiga hold a special place in her artistic oeuvre, representing a natural extension of her explorations within painting and graphic art. In three-dimensional forms, her way of thinking about art is revealed most fully – as a process of combining matter, symbol, and space. Her objects, primarily made from papier-mâché and ceramics, operate on the border of sculpture, relief, and functional forms, while also carrying a distinct semantic load that refers to universal cosmic structures and archetypal imaginations.

One of the most characteristic elements of this work is the choice of material. Papier-mâché, a fragile and impermanent medium, is transformed by the artist into a medium capable of expressing ideas of durability, harmony, and order in the world. This paradox – juxtaposing the ephemerality of matter with the timelessness of the symbol – constitutes an essential feature of her practice. Objects such as solar-cosmic compositions take the form of round discs, disks, or structures resembling stars, which can serve both as sculptures and functional elements, such as lamps. In this way, Janiga fits into the tradition of integrating art with everyday life, akin to modernist ideas of the unity of form and function, known from the works of artists like Isamu Noguchi or Alvar Aalto. At the same time, her realizations retain the character of unique artifacts, distant from industrial production and closer to artistic craftsmanship.

In the formal layer, the motif of the circle plays a special role, recurring in many of her works. The circle, as a perfect and closed figure, refers to cosmic symbolism, the cyclicality of nature, and the idea of unity. Janiga's objects can be interpreted as contemporary equivalents of mandalas or cosmological signs, which not only organize visual space but also suggest a contemplative dimension. In this sense, her work shows certain affinities with the actions of artists such as Anish Kapoor or James Turrell, although unlike their monumental and often spectacular realizations, Janiga's works remain intimate, focused, and materially tangible.

An important aspect of her spatial activity is also ceramics, especially made using the raku technique. This process, based on the action of fire and the unpredictability of effects, introduces an element of chance and the elemental into her works. The ceramic surfaces bear traces of cracks, discolorations, and irregularities, which fit into the aesthetic of imperfection, akin to the Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi. At the same time, the forms of these objects – often elongated, organic, with irregular contours – indicate an interest in nature as a source of inspiration. In this context, Janiga's work can be compared to the achievements of artists such as Peter Voulkos or Lucie Rie, who also treated ceramics not as a functional craft but as a legitimate sculptural medium.

The artist's experience in arranging museum exhibitions also plays a significant role, translating into her way of thinking about space. Her objects do not function as autonomous entities but as elements of a larger whole – a visual environment where the relationship between the artwork, space, and viewer is important. In this sense, her practice approaches the strategies employed by creators such as Mirosław Bałka or Daniel Buren, for whom the exhibition context is an integral element of the work.

A characteristic feature of Janiga's work is the tension between intuition and construction. Although her forms appear organic and spontaneous, they are, in fact, carefully thought out and subordinated to a specific compositional order. There is a visible concern for rhythm, symmetry, and proportions, which indicates a strong workshop background and formal awareness. This combination of controlled structure with openness to the material's action constitutes one of the most interesting aspects of her art.