A painter in post-war Europe
Andrzej Wróblewski
(1927-1957)

 

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To the Margin and Back is the first international museum solo show of the Polish artist Andrzej Wróblewski (Vilnius 1927 – Tatra Mountains 1957).

The selection of sixty-seven works including paintings, gouaches, monotypes and woodcuts, offers an in-depth look into the output and biography of one of the most exceptional and perhaps underrated figures of 20th century art.

Wróblewski’s practice is an intriguing example of a struggle waged by an individual within the rapidly developing political regime in the post-world war II Eastern Europe. From the early engagement in the Polish avant-garde movement marked by participation in the much-discussed 1st Exhibition of Modern Art, to series of canvases that provide an acute observation of the war-time trauma (Executions, 1949), to socialist-realist paintings as well as works which convey the sense of disorder, social alienation and failed expectations concerning the role of art in the new reality (series of Chairings and Chauffeurs). Wróblewski’s oeuvre proves inextricably interwoven with the events of the time and testifies to his belief that “every participation in life, even a crippled one, was better than observation, better than occupying the position of a viewer”.

The exhibition retraces this narrative, at the same time highlighting the artist’s lifelong interest in human nature, its masks and social codes that pushed him to constantly negotiate his own position. Spread between the extremes of two artistic idioms, and bound by personal tension, To the Margin and Back is itself a journey that creates new challenges to the existent readings of Andrzej Wróblewski and proposes new vistas for international audiences.

Publication
The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue, which – for the first time – discloses the history of Wróblewski to an international public. The volume includes two critical texts addressing his artistic practice written by art historians Andrzej Kostołowski and Joanna Kordjak, a historical statement by the artist and photographer Zbigniew Dłubak. The essential part of the book offers a comprehensive selection of the artist’s writings (most of which were published in Polish as press articles, ranging from critiques aimed at the system of fine art academies to comments and remarks on exhibitions), as well as private notes, short texts, film scripts and letters.

Guest Curator: Magdalena Ziόłkowska

source: Van AbbeMuseum 

address: Bilderdijklaan 10, 5611 NH  Eindhoven

LINKS:

Andrzej Wróblewski
Painter, born 15 June 1927 in Vilnius, died 23 March 1957 during an excursion in the Tatra Mountains.

Andrzej Wróblewski was one of Poland’s most outstanding and most independent post-war artists. He created his own individual, highly suggestive, and prolific formula of figurative painting that continued to inspire and became a reference point for several generations of artists who came after him.

Between 1945 and 1952 Wróblewski was a student in the Painting and Sculpture Department of the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow. There he studied under Zygmunt Radnicki, Zbigniew Pronaszko, Hanna Rudzka-Cybisowa and Jerzy Fedkowicz. For a part of this period (1945-48), he simultaneously studied art history at the Jagiellonian University. Initially Wróblewski dabbled in the graphic arts (the artist’s mother, Krystyna, was herself a practitioner), creating wood engravings and later sporadically venturing into lithography. Throughout this time, however, painting remained his focus. Wróblewski also donned the hat of art theoretician and critic at times, publishing articles in „Głos Plastyków” („Artists’ Voice”), „Przegląd Artystyczny” („Arts Review”), and „Życie Literackie” („Literary Life”). Read more

Andrzej Wróblewski
Urodzony w 1927 w Wilnie, zginął w 1957 podczas wyprawy w Tatry. Jeden z najwybitniejszych, najbardziej samodzielnych polskich artystów powojennych. Stworzył indywidualną, niezwykle sugestywną, płodną formułę malarstwa figuratywnego, wciąż inspirującą, będącą punktem odniesienia dla twórców kilku następnych pokoleń. Czytaj więcej

Published at website Polonia.NL 17.05.2010
Publisher: STEP – Foundation of Polish Experts in the Netherlands. Czytaj o nas