Polish artist Aneta Grzeszykowska is presenting two photo series in New York: "Mama" (2018), featuring a life-like doll of herself played with by her young daughter, and "Daughter" (2025), for which she wears a mask of her 14-year-old self and poses with family members. "Mama" is included in the "New Humans" exhibition at the New Museum and previously appeared in the 2022 Venice Biennale's "Milk of Dreams." "Daughter" is on view at Lyles & King gallery on the Lower East Side through May 9, and also in the group show "Adolescence" at the Zachęta National Gallery of Art in Warsaw. The series extend Grzeszykowska's long-standing practice of manipulating family photographs, which began with her 2005 series "Album," where she removed herself from old family pictures.
This work matters because Grzeszykowska uses uncanny props—a doll and a mask—to explore identity, family dynamics, and the passage of time, turning herself into both performer and viewer. By relinquishing control to her family members during the shoots, she creates intimate, unscripted moments that challenge traditional hierarchies and invite viewers to reflect on their own relationships. The simultaneous presentation of these series in major institutions like the New Museum and the Venice Biennale underscores the growing international recognition of her conceptually rigorous, emotionally resonant photography.