The Museum of Engineering and Technology in Krakow is now showcasing an extraordinary object that is a result of the meeting of two strong personalities – the artist Łukasz NAWER Habiera and the timeless automotive icon of Porsche. The piece demonstrates a premeditated and uninhibited interplay between form and colour, light and detail, the artist’s vision and viewers’ expectations. It was created as part of the continuous collaboration between Łukasz Habiera and the showroom Porsche Centrum Krakow.
On the occasion of such an unusual event, I had a chance to speak with the artist about the formation of his distinctive style, the inspiration for his work and the challenges he faced working with such an unorthodox object as a car.
Anna Nowok: Although you’re one of the creators of urban art in Poland, you’ve been distancing yourself from this movement for quite some time, focusing on studio painting. While you changed the surface on which you paint, you’ve remained true to your style by continuing to use bright colours, geometric shapes and gradients. How did this style come about? What is the origin?
Łukasz Habiera: The ultimate foundation of my style are my studies and interest in architecture. That’s precisely the origin of my work’s geometric and design components. I’m a professional architect. Despite the fact that I’ve never had a chance to work in my field and hone my craft, I’ve employed those design skills and the type of aesthetic while painting. To this day, I’m often inspired by it and familiar with the language of design.
The colour play is related to my early practice in the realm of public art. In spite of my departure from urban art, my roots are still evident – even though I use them in a completely different way. Toying with geometry or perspective and overlapping myriad layers is characteristic of my work. I’m a colourist; I love playing with colours. I suppose colour is the life of a work. It makes it easier to tune into the mood that I was in while I was making it. Right now, I work exclusively in a studio where I can better process my emotions and convey ideas in an unadulterated manner. In my work, I often draw on music and try to translate what I’m hearing into art. As I begin working, I enjoy listening to some electronic music, but I tend to go for jazz and ambient as I get closer to the end. If I find a song inspiring, I can reference it in the title of my work or play it to the audience so they can simultaneously view the work and listen to the piece that inspired its creation.
I’ve also been working on a series of collages that use a slightly different language than these geometric shapes, with which I am usually associated. The colleges are a more unrestrained form of expression, more lyrical. The viewer could decipher much more meaning from them alongside their own various interpretations.
AN: Let’s talk about your latest work created in collaboration with Porsche. “Configurations” is the second edition of your joint project. How did it all start?
Ł.H.: Our collaboration began last May (2023) when I was invited by Porsche Krakow to Porsche ART Night. At that time, I was working in the studio, using my original technique I was very familiar with, namely painting with acrylic on boards. And so, I made a painting inspired by the brand’s range of car paint colours.
AN: How did the creative process look? What inspired you to make this kind of piece?
Ł.H.: I was fascinated by the wealth of possibilities offered to a person customising their dream car. You can choose the model, colour, stitching, leather, even the colour of a thread. It struck me that this person brings their dreams to life in a way. In my work, I wanted to show an abstract, step-by-step illustration of the decision-making process – final customisation, selection of textures’ colours and limitless possibilities. From a blank page to the large-scale final project. For this reason, the right side of a painting starts with a blank slate, transitions into sparse splashes of colours which then keep multiplying until we arrive at the more complex fragment of the work on the left. It represents the finished “customisation” of our project. The colour palette of this work is a reference to the paint colours available at Porsche dealership.
AN: As you mentioned, initially the project was created on a flat surface. However, during the last event you were asked to transfer it to the three-dimensional body of a car. Did the multiple potential viewing angles and the issue of movement had any influence on the project? Did you modify it due to these factors?
Ł.H.: I didn’t make any significant changes in the design. The white colour as a starting point didn’t really appeal to me this time. I also had to process my work, rescale it because of different measurements of the surface that we would use. It turned out to be much harder to implement than I thought. As far as the impression of motion and dynamics are concerned, these are already inherent aspects of my work, so I didn’t change anything for this reason.
AN: What tools did you use to transfer your design? Did you encounter any issues as you went along?
Ł.H.: The biggest challenge turned out to be just translating the painting into the body of the car and applying it by adjusting it to its shape. Here, I had to go way beyond my comfort zone. The abstract geometric form clashed with the contours of the solid, changing the visual perception completely. Working with technology to help transfer the ready image into digital form was also far from easy. It took considerable effort to preserve the character of the original without losing the painterly freedom of conveying emotion or playing with colour. Here, I had to pay the most attention to the details and merging of previously globalised elements, as well as the most accurate rendering of the colour, which is very distinctive to me.
AN: Do you know what will happen to the car that you’ve created?
Ł.H.: It’s displayed for a month and afterwards it will return to the showroom, where it will be set into motion and cover some distance in the organic urban environment.
AN: You’ve mentioned a few times that you consider the collaboration with the Porsche brand as not only an exceptional honour but also a challenge and opportunity for going outside your comfort zone. What did you learn from this project?
Ł.H.: I love taking on professional challenges. I found working with a brand-new medium to be deeply inspiring. Transfer of a painting and the change of its format made me realise the vast scope of possibilities when it comes to the application and introduction of new technologies into my creative process.
Nawer X Porsche – Configurations
6 February – 6 March 2024
Museum of Engineering and Technology in Krakow
ul. Św. Wawrzyńca 15
