Jozef Bajus, “Everything Stays”

Originally conceived as a reimagining of studio materials collected over the past twenty years, the direction of “Everything Stays” shifted dramatically following a personal loss. While preparing for the exhibition, Bajus’s father, a highly skilled and respected tailor in Slovakia, passed away. His father’s craftsmanship had profoundly influenced Bajus’s artistic journey, and after his passing, the artist spent time in his father’s workshop surrounded by the tools and remnants of a life dedicated to making.

In the wake of his father’s passing, Bajus returned to that workshop and found himself surrounded by unfinished garments, zippers, buttons, threads, pins, needles, and fabric scraps—materials waiting for transformation. Unable to leave them behind in Slovakia, he brought many of these items back to his studio in Western New York, incorporating them into new works that honor his father’s artistry and legacy.

“Everything Stays” serves as both a memorial to Bajus’s father and a broader meditation on the act of making. By uniting discarded objects with deeply personal remnants, Bajus underscores the poetry of transformation, the value of memory, and the creative potential inherent in what others leave behind.

Press release available here.

September M&T Fourth Friday photos available here. Photos by Nilson Rivera Photography.