White Season/ Exhibition of paintings by Mariusz Mierzejewski

ARCHIVE EXHIBITION

WHITE SEaSON / EXHIBITION OF PAINTINGS BY MARIUSZ MIERZEJEWSKI

Venue: 101 Projekt Gallery, Nowy Świat 53

Date: 19.01.-20.02.2015

101 Project Gallery presents an exhibition of paintings by Mariusz Mierzejewski. Composed on canvases both large and small, the works are being exhibited under the common title of "White Season", a reference to the period of winter and the sense of reflection that the season engenders. Most of the paintings are in ascetic black and white tones. Against a white background scenes of everyday life have been hurriedly sketched. One captures a diagonal composition of cars; another represents a bird’s-eye view of the silhouettes of boys playing in the snow; yet another is of snowy, wooded hills; whilst the exhibition’s dominant composition is a portrait of a black raven. Some of the works draw attention to the technique of impasto, with the paint layered and textured on the canvas like a congealed crust. Other canvases have about them an aura of tension and a mysterious "silence". Such a mood is evident in the two-meter canvas entitled “Alps”, painted with a more extensive palette, depicting an expressive pink sky and purple-blue shadows cast by the snow-covered mountain slopes. “Alps” reflects the author's admiration of the mountain landscape and the sense of humility one feels in the presence of nature. It also highlights his desire to take a moment’s breath, and pause for reflection. Drawing inspiration from nature and his immediate environment, Mierzejewski preserves his feelings through alternating phases of human existence, including the time of silence brought on by the aura of winter. According to the artist, winter is a period of silence – a necessary state that allows him to immerse himself in painting.

Magdalena Durda-Dmitruk

Mariusz Mierzejewski (born 1981, Warsaw)

In 2006 he graduated from the Department of Art at the Univesity of Maria Curie Skłodowska in Lublin (Jacek Wojciechowski, Jan Gryka atelier). In his work he uses painting, photography, graphic arts and film. Laureate with distinction at the 2nd “Animalis” Triennale of Art in Chorzów (2011), 3rd prize in the contest for creating a project for developing the environment in the area of the National Stadium in Warsaw (team work), 1st prize in the contest for creating an architectural concept for the modernization of the Park of J. Poliński in Warsaw (team work), and 2nd place in the contest for creating an architectural and town planning project for the extension of the Polish Theatre in Szczecin (team work). He lives and works in Warsaw.