Maciej Proliński
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Nobody is able to capture the essence of the sea. But trusting that the sound of a faraway sea can be heard inside a shell, we greedily add new shells to our existing collection. (...) Each sea wave produces different visual and auditory sensations. Maria Wollenberg-Kluza can perfectly tell these different waves apart. She captures them in the active memory of her eye. Indeed, some of us - looking at the rhythm and structure of a wave, the unique way it is born, its changing colours and flickering reflections of light - instantly recognise that it is a familiar, northern wave." That is how one of the most outstanding literary historians and art critics, Prof. Andrzej Gronczewski describes the artist’s painting in a preface to the book. "I know the Baltic coast very well, because I have travelled its length, but I keep coming back to some places. I used to regularly visit the coastal village of Dębki near Żarnowiec for 30 years. These days I go to Krynica Morska. There’s a beach, the sea and the sky, sometimes a few fishing boats. Some may say: 'How boring, nothing ever changes.' But for me, there’s so much room for imagination ... Although the sea is right in front of you, it’s up to you how you paint it ... Every day the beach is steeped in a different light, it’s warmer or cooler, and each time I’m in a different mood. And besides what I can see in front of me, there’s something else on my mind. We observe nature, we admire its beauty, but we always have our favourite themes. I blend them into my works. It happens that I use these summer, sea images in other paintings, so the sea also appears in my other works and cycles, such as 'Saligia - 7 Deadly Sins.' My paintings are about human emotions, but at the same time, I do not avoid historical and patriotic themes. A special patriotic painting devoted to the sea is a work I produced four years ago. It is entitled 'General Józef Haller. Wedding to the Baltic Sea.' My intention was to combine my love for the Polish sea with an important date in Polish history," • says Maria Wollenberg-Kluza.
12 polish market
ROOM FOR
imagination
"Toward the sun", 2003, oil on canvas
The 100th anniversary of Poland's wedding to the sea, a symbolic act of the regaining of access to the Baltic, is celebrated this month. Maritime scenes by Maria Wollenberg-Kluza, an outstanding Polish painter, winner of the “Polish Market” Honorary Pearl 2019 in the Culture category, have gone on show in Warsaw. A book with photographs of her works, entitled "Baltic Impressions", has also been brought out recently.
"General Józef Haller - Wedding to the Baltic Sea", 2017, oil on canvas
POLAND THE CENTENARY OF REGAINING INDEPENDENCE