Intaglio

Intaglio Printmaking — Traces and Transformations

This body of work, developed as part of Baranski’s art diploma, investigates the dialogue between natural processes and artistic intervention. The starting point is not a blank plate, but rusted metal sheets found in the landscape — objects already marked by time, weather, and decay. These surfaces carry their own textures and histories: corrosion, scratches, and accidental patterns formed without human intention.

Instead of erasing these marks, Baranski chooses to work with and against them. Through etching, engraving, and other intaglio techniques, he manipulates the found plates, layering deliberate gestures onto the accidental traces. The result is a series of prints where natural and artistic forces coexist — neither dominating the other, but merging into complex, evocative surfaces.

Each print captures a kind of temporal sediment: traces of rust and time combined with contemporary artistic decision. The impressions are rich in texture and atmosphere, oscillating between landscape-like structures and abstract topographies. The process transforms the plates from discarded remnants into sites of reflection — material witnesses that speak of transformation, impermanence, and the human impulse to find meaning within natural change.

By grounding his diploma work in this tactile, process-based approach, Baranski connects traditional printmaking with environmental observation. The project becomes both an artistic and philosophical inquiry: how do we relate to traces left by the world, and how do our interventions reshape what we inherit?