Jacek Gowik – Paintings

From 7th June 2018 Retroavangarda Gallery in Jerozolimskie Business Park will be holding a solo exhibition of paintings by Jacek Gowik. The collection of abstract oil paintings dates to recent years of the artist’s activity and has never been presented before. The impressive canvases with strong color accents are a perfect match for modern interiors. Jacek Gowik is a mature artist, a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw where in 1980 he received his diploma with distinctions, done the studio of prof. Jacek Sienicki. He has taken part in many solo and group exhibitions. Here is what Zbigniew Pindor writes about him in a catalogue preface:

…By building his own form, using the original means of expression, Jacek Gowik gives testimony to the difficult quest for truth between the essence of intellectual and sensual art. The sensual dimension of this art is an attempt to convey to the viewer the feelings and atmosphere accompanying the creation of the work. The intellectual dimension refers to the tradition of abstract painting, its aesthetic and decorative functions. In the artist’s paintings abstract forms are built with great care and thought. The whole is based on the symbiosis of the organic form with geometrical abstraction. Yes, logic and sensuality, two opposing forces clash in the artist’s work. The whole is subordinated to the overriding goal of striving for the synthesis of the painting form. Vertical format of most compositions arranges a painting space divided by horizontal strips of contrasting colors. They suggest a division into three elementary elements of water, earth and air. The matter of the paint texture varies from the fleshy impasto of a thickly laid paint to delicate subdued colors described in a subtle moulding. Sometimes the compositions are limited to one tone – blue, sepia, rouge; sometimes a strong contrast of colors is crucial. The artistic order of Jacek Gowik’s paintings marks the basic color triad laid out on the surface of the composition. Pomegranates collided with saturated brown and deep gray in some sepia images are set with emerald and dark blue tones. Sophisticated coloring plays a special role. It has the value of creating a new painting form. It can be said that these are the traditional signs of the spontaneity of the painting gesture applied in art for over a hundred years. In Gowik’s paintings color solutions co-operate with linear systems. In the dynamic pile of vibrant lines and strokes, we sense the movement given to them by the artist while working on the painting. It is difficult to control this movement, because opalescent colors and illusion of light illuminate this effect.

Curator: Anna Kłos
Opening hours: Tue – Fri 11AM – 7PM
Galeria Retroavangarda Jerozolimskie Business Park
Aleje Jerozolimskie 146D, 02–305 Warszawa
e-mail: retroavangarda.com@gmail.com
Jacek Gowik’s website: www.malarstwojacekgowik.com