Jan Kanty Pawluśkiewicz (b. 1942) is one of the most important contemporary composers. Since the late 1990s, he has also been involved in visual arts. The first exhibition of his works, created using his signature gel-art technique, was held in 1999 at the iconic Piwnica pod Baranami. The paintings presented at Bunkier Sztuki were created over the past three years.
Jan Kanty Pawluśkiewicz uses multicoloured pens with shimmering glitter gel which he layers over paper surfaces. He began with meticulously applied dots (up to several hundred per square centimetre), which he later replaced—through experimentation—with painterly gestures.
The artist navigates between a restrained linear style and a more expressive, at times even impasto-like technique, characteristic of traditional painting.
His body of work includes both abstract and figurative compositions. Alongside Fauvist and Surrealist forms, we find flattened shapes suspended in space, reminiscent of Joan Miró’s paintings. Schematic, motion-captured figures bring to mind the works of the Futurists.
In his work, the artist reflects on his memories and motifs that have stuck with him. He revisits his own pieces, for instance inscribing their surfaces with fragments of critical texts, thus adding further visual and semantic layers. Within the presented works, a unique code is revealed that Pawluśkiewicz uses to narrate his world.
Jan Kanty Pawluśkiewicz presents himself as a keen observer of the world around him, carefully analysing and reworking cultural and historical codes. His paintings are dynamic, expressive, and vibrant, with colours that shine like neon lights, contrasting starkly against deep black backgrounds.
