Abstract (Abstrakcja)*
Description
Executed in: 1958
Medium: Oil on canvas
Size: 42 x 72 cm
Signed and dated on the reverse, Jerzy Nowosielski, 1958
Provenance
Jerzy Nowosielski Foundation. Private collection, Poland
Description
Jerzy Nowosielski was a painter, graphic artist, scenographer, and illustrator, joint member of the Tadeusz Kantor circle and a member of the Kraków Group II. His practice could be described as an investigation of human spiritual states, mental processes, and desires through clean and very distinctive minimalist forms. Jerzy Nowosielski 's works have been part of many exhibitions and collections in Poland and abroad, such as the Venice Biennial, Italy; Sao Paulo Biennial, Brazil; Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA; Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin, Germany; Musée d'Art Contemporain, Lyon, France; Kunsthaus, Nürnberg, Germany; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, USA; Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw, Poland; Muzeum Sztuki, Łódź, Zachęta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw, Poland Poland; PGS - Państwowa Galeria Sztuki, Sopot, Poland, and many others.
Nowosielski’s most well-known works combine the tradition of Orthodox icon painting and the tendencies of the Western historical avantgarde. In the 1950s, Nowosielski dedicated his artistic practice to research and experiments, from figuration to geometric abstraction, like other representatives of the post-war Krakow avant-garde. Although the artist's style changed over time, it is usually easy to identify his works. The most characteristic elements of Nowosielski's work were elongated figures, mainly feminine, clear contours, clear colours, and flatness, reminiscent of early 20th century avant-garde paintings. The work Abstract is part of the series of paintings in which he skillfully combined a thin black line outlining of squares, triangles, or, less often, circles, with pure, luminous colour, whose intensity often produces the effect of glowing forms.
Exhibitions
The painting is catalogued in the archives of the Nowosielski Foundation
The works of art which are subject to artist resale royalty rights ('droit de suite') are marked with an * in the description of the work of art. The amount of the royalties is calculated using a sliding scale of percentages of the Hammer Price.