opening: Friday, October 13th at 7 PM
exhibition: 13.10- 17.11.2023
exhibition open Monday – Friday 10 AM – 6 PM
admission always free
place: Galeria Piekary
Św. Marcin 80/82 Street, Poznań
CK Zamek, Rose Courtyard
organizer:
partner:
media patronage:
Galeria Piekary is pleased to invite you to an exhibition by Wojciech Idźkowski, a graduate from the Poznań State Higher School of Visual Arts (now University of Arts), painter and photographer associated with the art community of Poznań. His work echoes a fascination with the Bauhaus tradition, although he has shown that any art form can be an inspiration.
The title of the exhibition, Circles, not only foreshadows the content of the paintings themselves, but also reveals the artist’s perennial inspirations. Idźkowski was introduced to the world of circles in his early childhood, as he would constantly trace them with a stick in the sand. In an inexplicable, subliminal way, his mind perceived those figures as a symbol of safety and separation from the chaos of the world. Enclosing himself in a circle allowed him to remain in a zone that no evil could penetrate. In his adulthood, those fascinations were redefined, overlaid with the experience of a mature person, which then allowed him to create art based on both primal instincts and conscious reflection.
Wojciech Idźkowski is not only interested in painting, but also in photography; also, he is a great enthusiast of travelling. In conjunction, these interests contribute to the creative process: during his successive wanderings in unknown places, the artist looks for circles in his surroundings, in the space of civilization and architecture, and each time he notes how they reflect the degradation of externality. His paintings are often inspired by photographs taken during such excursions, which the artist rediscovers after time. His entire oeuvre, in fact, relies on revisiting the sketches he has once begun, as he introduces changes, arranging individual elements of the work along an extensive timeline to shape a deeply deliberate composition. The painter uses oil paints and, as the consecutive layers build up, his relationship with the work at hand evolves as well. Moreover, the paintings in the Circles series are also related to one another and remain in a kind of dialogue; they share, as the author himself observes, a sensitivity to the elusiveness of the world. Traces of play with the geometric form and intriguing colour combinations based on contrast are further common traits.
Idźkowski exploits geometry in an attempt to order the world: the circles are subject to rules, they compel one to calculate, draw arcs, pay attention to detail, pursue perfection. Consequently, the figures may be used as a kind of shield against the dangers of the unsettling reality. The circles are a defence mechanism, a comfort zone, a haven of safe experience. Idźkowski’s original concepts have gained recognition in the art circles while his paintings have been shown at exhibitions in e.g. Warsaw and Poznań, as well as internationally, in countries such as Canada, Germany and Spain.
