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Mikołaj
Obrycki was born in
Szczecin. In 1997-2003 he studied painting, graphic arts and sculpture
at the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznań and graduated in
painting under Professor Jerzy Kałucki. Obrycki’s very first
exhibition,
however, had taken place in Szczecin in 1994 before he began his
studies. His works were displayed
at more than 90 exhibitions in Poland and abroad: in London, Paris,
Stockholm,
Copenhagen, Sopot, Szczecin, Poznań, Warsaw. In his bountiful artistic
endeavours
Obrycki often treads a fine line between abstract and representational
painting. For
Obrycki, painting space is a component of reality, an inseparable
element of his
natural environment, a perceptual organ for viewing the world, and at
the same
time the limit of its direct exploration. Obrycki's world of painting
is
so overwhelming that it sometimes begins to absorb the artist himself,
meeting more and more of
his needs. As a result, the distance between the artist and his art
starts
to
disappear, with the latter transgressing the spiritual realm and
entering the world of
everyday life and physical functioning. Obrycki does not trade in
patterns or symbols he
reflects on; engrossed in the painting process, he rather creates and
discovers new
expanses and phenomena, often to his own surprise, just to interact
with them.
The artist would frequently create entire series of paintings or
variations on a single
motif found in photography, reproductions, newspapers or one derived
from his own
observations or questions related to the artistic process. Such a work
ethic implies
an incessant attempt to probe, understand, exhaust even, the subject
matter; a
fanatic approach that effectively transforms the object of the
analysis, giving birth to
new threads and problems. One could assume paintings are reinterpreted
experiences of
landscape, portrait or still life; one could be certain, though, they
all
transcend their respective labels. Are lines and colour surfaces in
Obrycki’s paintings
meant to define space or rather connect two different states of matter?
Are there shadows of
objects and atmospheric phenomena on the horizon, or are these brush
strokes driven
by a convulsive hand? With respect to Obrycki's art, posing such
questions weighs more than getting unequivocal answers.
by Raman
Tratsiuk |
