Zachęta – National Gallery of Art

curator: Janusz S. Janowski, PhD

The idea behind the exhibition of paintings by Krzysztof Gliszczyński and Tadeusz Gustaw Wiktor, which inaugurates the exhibition series Languages of Art: Juxtapositions at the Zachęta — National Gallery of Art, is to compare and contrast the oeuvres of two artists who follow the same convention and situate the same formal means at the heart of their artistic languages, and yet achieve a completely different expression and therefore formulate a different message. Not only does this format showcase the oeuvre of significant Polish artists, but also complements the purely artistic dimension of their work with educational qualities by opening up the possibility of a more in-depth analysis of formal aspects of art. It unveilsthe wealth of potential ways in which the artwork can be creatively shaped on the basis of individual elements of painting’s language and its narrative potential.

The eponymous opposition between colour and paintunveils the essential difference between the fields in which both painters operate. Colour is for them a central means of expression, and they have explored its properties artisticallyfor years. However, each of them has adopted a different goal for their artistic enquiries. Tadeusz Gustaw Wiktor transcends the materiality of his paintings by using an adequate technique, whereas Krzysztof Gliszczyński does the oppositeby highlighting the material dimension of his works with the use of the ancient encaustic technique, among other means. Colour in Wiktor’s paintings becomes a carrier of meanings deprived of a referent in reality, which actualises Plato’s noetic cognition and evokes ideas accessible only intuitively. Meanwhile, in Gliszczyński’s works, colour is a quality of the dense matter of paint and, as its feature, it draws attention precisely to matter, which lies at the heart of the work and carries meaning.