Painting as Mind Architecture

Monochrome fragment of a painting or installation detail — black form on white field, strong negative space.

Photography from the Process series for dorotazys.com Szymon Gebel

I do not approach painting as expression.

For me, painting is a form of structure — a way of organizing perception before meaning appears.

Working in monochrome allows me to remove narrative and emotional shortcuts. What remains is hierarchy, rhythm, balance, tension. Space becomes active. Silence becomes a decision.

Over time, I noticed that the same principles shaping my paintings operate beyond the canvas — in how we perceive space, make choices, and define orientation. Visual perception is not neutral. It structures the mind before thought.

This observation led me to articulate Visual Mind Architecture — a conceptual framework exploring how perception builds internal order prior to language, emotion, or interpretation. My paintings and my writing are not separate practices. They are two sides of the same inquiry.

The artwork does not explain.

It creates conditions.

👉 Visual Mind Architecture — selected essays on Medium