“Painting as Prop” is a unique showcase of contemporary Polish artist Wilhelm Sasnal. Recently opened (30 March 2024) at the prestigious IMC Hall of Honor of the renowned Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, this exhibition presents 25 captivating paintings. The displayed works include film props – painted deliberately for Sasnal’s latest film project, and pieces engaging in dialogue with contemporary everyday life. The show, curated by Adam Szymczyk, will open for visitors until 1 September 2024.
The exhibition’s title guides the audience through the narration and the selection process of paintings. The lens through which the artist and the curator decided to present the artworks offers a unique chance to enter the film set and view its story from a different angle. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been as absorbed by anything as this film,” reveals Sasnal in one of the interviews.
From book to screen – Sasnal’s “The Assistant”
“The Assistant” (2024) is Wilhelm Sasnal’s newest film project. The screen adaptation is based on Robert Walser’s novel of the same title (org. Der Gehülfe). While reading it, Sasnal instantly visualised the movie. The book (1908) tells the story of Joseph Marti, a character working for an inept engineer and inventor. Joseph’s role as an assistant covers all types of activities, from handyman and servant to partner and advisor.
Sasnal has noticed a lot of similarities between early 20th-century work-related struggles and the current neo-liberal capitalism. The uncertainty of tomorrow, constant change, or loss of job refers to many, especially young, people these days. The artist relates this story to the relatively newly formed term- precariat, which describes people without secure jobs, and the perspective of having one in the near future.
Sasnal found timelessness and relevance to the present day to be the main reasons for adapting the book’s story to the screen, even over a hundred years after its publication.
The “prop” paintings presented at the Stedelijk Museum play a special role in the film. Walser’s book was published in 1908, which is an estimated date for the beginnings of cubism. Sasnal used this fact not only pragmatically, as a coincidence of date, but also metaphorically. For him, the characteristic deconstruction of cubist paintings reflects the disintegrating reality of the book. Among the pieces showcased at the exhibition, visitors can find artist’s variations of Matisse, Braque, or Picasso. Sasnal’s painting practice includes appropriation art, and that’s how, in this case, he approached the cubist masterpieces. Moreover, the artist “wanted some canvases to refer to specific characters, such as the portrait of Matisse’s wife, which is a reflection of Mrs. Tobler”, as he says.
Alongside film props, visitors can experience paintings inspired by Sasnal’s reading and contemporary interpretation of issues presented in Walser’s novel. Based on daily situations, objects, and observations of political and cultural events from recent decades, artworks reflect socio-political conditions in current times. Juxtaposed with the early 20th-century context of the book, “Painting as Prop” mirrors the present-day capitalist reality.
A multifaceted artist
Although the exhibition is relatively small in terms of size and the number of works on display, its very location in the museum building highlights its significance. Presented at the IMC Hall of Honor, “Painting as Prop” has its place at the central point of the Stedelijk Museum. The vicinity of other museum rooms full of notable names of avant-garde art and the main, remarkable staircase, which leads visitors right to the entrance of “Painting as Prop”, underlines its prominence. The significance of the exhibition’s location adequately reflects Sasnal’s position as an artist in the contemporary world. He is one of the leading figures in the Polish art scene, with international awards and exhibitions worldwide. Wilhelm Sasnal (born in 1972 in Tarnów, Poland) works at the intersection of various art disciplines, from painting to illustration, film, comics, and murals. Through the medium of the image, his multifaceted artworks result from everything that interests, intrigues, or fascinates him. He often takes inspiration from everyday life and the mass media. “My mind is not able to produce fiction. I always try to base it on something that exists”, he says.
Sasnal exhibited his works in solo and group shows at, among others, Haus der Kunst, Munich, Germany (2012); Centre for Contemporary Art in Malaga, Spain (2009); and Kunsthalle in Zurich, Switzerland (2003). He also participated in the 26th Biennial in Sao Paulo (2004), and his art is in collections in museums such as Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Tate Modern in London, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and numerous private collections.
“Painting as Prop” is Sasnal’s second exhibition in the Stedelijk Museum. In 2006, the artist won the prestigious ‘The Vincent Award’, which allowed him to show his art in this museum. Back then, he decided to present his films ‘The River’, ‘Camera’, and ‘Kodachrome’. This year, visitors to the Stedelijk Museum have a chance to take a closer look at Sasnal’s film-related work through the medium of paintings.
The exhibition will be on display until 1 September 2024, and the premiere of the film will be announced soon.
Painting as Prop
Wilhelm Sasnal
March 30 until September 1, 2024
Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam: Museumplein 10, 1071 DJ Amsterdam
