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Artists: Grzegorz Czechowski and Krzysztof Ostrzeszewicz

Place: Galeria 101 Projekt

Date: 18.03-31.03.2022

Curator: Paulina Świerczyńska-Brzezińska

CATALOGUE

Grzegorz Czechowski's paintings are an attempt to capture what is seemingly unattainable. For years, the artist has been consistently registering visions of the world on his canvases, the source of which lies in the boundless imagination. Pictures, often painted in sepia, automatically bring to mind old photographs, and this impression is intensified by the way of the painting technique itself - with the use of tiny brush strokes that vibrate on the surface. Monochromatic, misty compositions introduce the viewer to a fantastic world in which well-known motifs, through a specific painting convention, become part of fantastic, dreamlike visions. These compositions, sometimes showing almost abstract forms, are full of mysterious motifs with only an outline of realistic shapes. Onericity is a feature that best characterizes the artist's style. A typical theme for these paintings is a series of works in which the essence is hidden only in a certain suggestion. With the help of painted tears in the canvas, a story emerges from its depths suggesting that there is more hiding under this surface layer. The precisely painted architecture and city landscapes seem to be abandoned. Or in other words - inhabited not by people, but creatures derived from the artist's dream visions. These images can be disturbing in some way - just as the unknown and the inexplicable disturb us. However, this anxiety is not a negative trait. Rather, it arouses curiosity, encourages the viewer to delve into this dream world with its limitless possibilities.

The human body, as an artistic problem ideally suited to the assumptions of the sculpture, provides an excellent starting point for creativity, in which, apart from talent and ingenuity, also workshop skills - proven at every step. An example of this type of activity is the work of Krzysztof Ostrzeszewicz. Thanks to the use of synthetic, simplified forms, the artist manages to achieve the universalization of the representations without the psychologically deepened content. These sculptures do not show the individual interior of the portrayed character, but only the general idea of the depicted item. The artist rejects the details of the model that could indicate a given individual and would at the same time distance him from the general content. As a rule, the characters do not have a face - sometimes only certain parts of it are outlined in order to intensify the expression. The viewer's focus is directed into the form itself, the general shape, and only then on the detail. An attentive observer will notice that with the saving of the formal means used, some parts remain refined, they are symbols, signs suggesting the correct interpretation of representations, such as Lady Macbeth's raised hands or a bouquet of Persephone's poppies. In the sculpture "Motherhood" we also deal with very sparing handling of details. All female features, such as breasts and facial features, have only been suggested. Both figures, mother and child, are closely connected with each other, they create a compact form, which clearly emphasizes the idea of motherhood. The block of the sculpture itself is a symbol here. It is similar in the case of "Brzemienna", where the strongly accentuated part of the abdomen emerges from the diagram of the proportions of the female figure.This work is full of cultural references, and the heroes themselves most often come from mythology or the Bible. I think that now you need to have the courage not only to move boldly in the world of figuration, but, perversely, also in the subject of traditional representations. The consequence of this courage in the case of Krzysztof Ostrzeszewicz's sculptures is obtaining a contemporary commentary on such traditional forms and themes. This work is an example of the fact that it is possible to develop your original artistic activity, which is a continuation of the canon of beauty known since antiquity, by processing traditional patterns, while searching for innovative forms of expression. Krzysztof Ostrzeszewicz is not afraid to reach for topics on which his predecessors were so eager to speak, consciously engaging in this artistic dialogue of generations.

Paulina Świerczyńska-Brzezińska