Cyryl Polaczek's work is a kind of thought experiment. Here, images emerge intuitively from abstract grounds. Producing paintings that are at once tactile and imagistic, Polaczek begins with thickly applied layers of oil paint, into which nascent images and abstract forms are carved. Responding to the painted surface as well as the vague phenomena of everyday life, the artist renders images that often draw on remembered daily scenes, films, and literature in thinly painted stains and glazes.

Opposing polemics, Polaczek’s paintings propose apparently obvious yet uncanny formal coincidences, such as a nose fitting under a shoe. Seeking to describe these uncertain observations visually, Polaczek makes use of association to create his own symbolism. In this regard, his paintings contain a certain circularity, becoming loosely connected by both subject and form over time. The inherently transformative nature of this process is further reflected in the artist’s shifting visual style. Like shadows moving on a wall, Polaczek’s work questions what you think you know—visually and circumstantially.

Cyryl Polaczek (b. 1989 in Zielona Góra, Poland; lives and works in Kraków) studied at the Berlin University of the Arts, the Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków, and the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk. Alongside his individual painting practice, Polaczek is a founding member of artist-run space Potencja based in Kraków, Poland. Co-founded with Karolina Jabłońska and Tomasz Kręcicki, Potencja collaboratively curates exhibitions, creates sculptures and actions, and produces films as well as music.

Organized by Peter Curtis.

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