Catalogue accompanying the exhibition “Elsa Rouy. Just Because”, which was on view at the Mazovian Center for Contemporary Art “Elektrownia” from January 23 to March 15, 2026.

“The contemporary body lives in turbulent times. It has become not only a battlefield for self-determination, but also an object of fashion and private PR campaigns on social media, where ubiquitous nudity threatens to transform it into a lifeless form. Elsa Rouy, on the contrary, succeeds in giving the body meaning and an almost physical tangibility. The fingers she paints plunge into an imaginary body; hands leave imprints on the skin; breasts are soft, and eyes are piercing. The skin becomes almost a living organism: it folds, stretches, breathes, and explodes. Different parts of the body seem to follow their own internal logic—sometimes blending completely into the body, and at other times suddenly ceasing to exist. In paintings where bodies are entangled, the painted skin creates a kind of protection against closeness. The background is reduced to minimal spatial markers: perhaps a horizon line or another body serving as a barrier. The layers of paint seem never-ending and reveal a new depth each time,” writes curator Marta Gnyp.

2026
Published by Mazovian Center for Contemporary Art Elektrownia in Radom
140 pages
ISBN 978-83-68430-03-5
English/Polish