Wojciech Zaniewski Critique

Wojciech Zaniewski

Meadows Cycle, 2012 - Pastel on paper, 49 x 64 cm

EXPO CHIANCIANO

The Artist Wojciech Zaniewski was born in Gdańsk, Poland, where he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts, obtaining the diploma under Kazimierz Ostrowski in 1979. He expresses himself in classical techniques: oil, pastel and watercolour. Mr Zaniewski has travelled extensively for his art, for example, to England, Germany, Russia, Italy, the USA. Zaniewski has participated in many group exhibitions both in Poland, in cities such as Sopot, Gdynia, Warsaw, Katowice, Nowy Sącz (International Pastel Biennial 2011), Cracow, and abroad in Denmark, Japan, France (Salon de Pastels 2012, SaintAulaye), as well as solo exhibitions in Gdańsk, Sopot, Warsaw’s Zapiecek Gallery and New York among others.

Wojciech Zaniewski has won several awards and honourable mentions in competitions. In 1986, as an Italian government scholarship holder (via Poland’s Ministry of Culture and Art), he interned at Rome’s Accademia delle Belle Arti under Prof. Sandro Trotti. For more than a decade, he worked at the Academy of Fine Arts. Zaniewski currently works with the University of Gdańsk where he runs art workshops. In 1995, he earned a doctorate in painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk. In 2009, he became member of the Polish Pastel Society (SSP). He was awarded grants by the Marshal of the Pomorskie Region in 2008 and 2014, and by the Mayor of Sopot in 2011. He also authored a book on art: “Dokąd zmierza współczesna sztuka.

Eseje o historii sztuki jej rozwoju i perspektywach” [Where Is Contemporary Art Headed. Essays on the history of art, its development and prospects]. In 2016, he received the Minister of Culture’s Award.

In parallel to his creative activities, Zaniewski was also the initiator and the driving force behind two important art events: the Krytycy o Nas [Critics about Us] national exhibition of Poland’s young painting (Sopot BWA Gallery, 1989) and the Malarskie Widzenie [Painter’s Way of Seeing] art book, Gdańsk, 1994.

Zaniewski’s art was presented in the nation-wide Sztuka [Art] bi-monthly and in the publications of the Gdańsk Society of the Arts. The artist’s works are housed in many collections, including Poland’s National Art Gallery in Sopot and the National Museum in Gdańsk, Musee du Pastel in SaintAulaye, France, Poland’s Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, the Sopot City Hall, corporate collections (MAG Gdynia Maritime Agency), and in many private collections, both in Poland and abroad, in Germany, Japan, Sweden, USA, Canada and France.

The Critique Wojciech Zaniewski’s mysterious landscapes appear as poetic metaphors conceived by a complex and reflective creative mind. Intensely enigmatic paths are the absolute protagonists of a captivating pictorial journey into this artist’s deepest subconscious sphere. Endless horizons to be freely interpreted by spectators, albeit who remain perpetually conscious of their inability to fully comprehend the infinite nuances of meaning contained in Zaniewski’s intricate works on paper.

At a first glance, one is instinctively enthralled by the juxtaposition between the sophisticated shades of delicate greens and the fierce black sky, a union that provokes a striking visual effect. The viewer is catapulted into an oneiric aura of contrasting atmospheres that instantly transform into a fertile cue for symbolic interpretations.

Does the path lead anywhere? Does it successfully transverse the darkness of this energetic background and seek new horizons? Or does it terminate in an inescapable meandre of dreams? On deeper analysis, Zaniewski’s landscapes assume the form of mental stimuli, metaphysical spaces in constant evolution or surreal surroundings saturated with obscure references. Zaniewski is clearly fascinated by nature and by the infinitely faceted possibilities of perception: in fact, his solid yet turbulent skies radiate with artistic excellence while they are simultaneously softened by an exquisitely delicate colour palette. In a range of ochres and greys, Zaniewski creates elegant compositions that absorbs the viewer’s attention in a thought-provoking maze of divergent emotions.

Stylistically speaking, Zaniewski’s art employs a calculated balance of subdued colours and subtle tones. Chiaroscuro is transformed into cryptic shadows applied on the smooth surfaces, demarking a contemplative and silent three-dimensionality. In fact, when the viewer believes to understand a piece, he is soon surprised to discover that the composition remains a subconscious mystery: Zaniewski’s works carve out a new perceptual space reminiscent of Rothko, characterised by pure abstractions, simplified forms and intense perceptions of our ephemeral reality.

Timothy Warrington International Confederation of Art Critics

Wojciech Zaniewski

Dunes Cycle, 2015 - Pastel on paper, 49 x 64 cm

ICAC

International Confederation of Art Critics