Paweł Althamer, Przemysław Matecki, I Sit, I Lie, I Squat, 2020, oil on canvas, 107 × 150 cm courtesy of Raster Gallery
This exhibition is the premiere presentation of joint painting works by Paweł Althamer (born 1967) and Przemysław Matecki (born 1976). The paintings and assemblages were made over the past three years as a result of intense, often spontaneous creative sessions using found objects and earlier works by both artists. The emotional nature of the paintings conveys the tense political, emotional and family atmosphere in which they arose. The artists take up and redefine concepts, motifs and symbols key for their environment, shaping the religious, national and artistic community.
Both artists are among the most important of their generation. Althamer is a sculptor and performance artist, creator of installations and social actions of a communal, spiritual and creative character. He has exhibited at some of the world’s most important artistic institutions, such as the New Museum in New York, Centre Pompidou in Paris, Documenta in Kassel, and the Berlin Biennale. Matecki is a painter combining various genres and expanding the field of the painting to include elements of collage and assemblage. He has carried out series of works in cooperation with Tomasz Ciecierski, Zbigniew Rogalski, and Paweł Susid. His individual shows have been held at Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art and Zachęta National Gallery of Art in Warsaw, among other institutions.
The exhibition was prepared in conjunction with Raster Gallery and Foksal Gallery Foundation.