03.03.2017 - 26.03.2017

Henryk Komowski – Between crowd and solitude – exhibition

The Baltic Sea Culture Centre is pleased to invite you to a retrospective exhibition of works by

Henryk Komowski

BETWEEN CROWD AND SOLITUDE
Exhibition preview: 03 March 2017 (Friday), 6:00 p.m.
The exhibition is open until 26 March 2017, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Tickets: PLN 1.00

 Between crowd and solitude – the first posthumous, retrospective display of the works by an artist from Gdańsk, Henryk Komowski (1939–2014). He was a well-known, flamboyant personality of the social and artistic life of Tri-City. It would have been hard to guess that the man with his inevitable guitar likes to spend time in solitude, away from the hustle and bustle, analysing his thoughts and the surrounding world and recording his reflections on canvas.

A look back on the art by Henryk Komowski inspires many reflections about the artist: an unconventional character, full of joy and amazement at life, but also bitter concern about the state of the modern world. His existential dilemmas give us food for thought over the artist's struggle with the matter of life. That is why there will be no explanations of tips about “what the artist intended to say”.
He did not belong to any avant-garde group, nor did he try to keep up with the young generation. That is what Komowski – the painter – used to say about himself: “I am an artist, a master of visual arts, an artisan artist; I also produce functional art because it is something I can do...” He has displayed his paintings in Tri-City, Warsaw, Katowice, Szczecin and in Austria. His works can be found in the National Museum collections in Gdańsk and in private collections in Poland and abroad. In 1977 he became a qualified expert in the field of modern art works. He always emphasised that a well-educated artist has to demonstrate proficiency and technique resulting from evolution and tradition. Individuality and originality of expression will show itself depending on the natural talent of the artist. He was irritated by what he called a fraudulent manner of artistic expression. “Only a child has the right to self-amazement” – he used to say with annoyance.

In the 1970s he took up designing and executing small three-dimensional forms and unique jewellery. He took part in many individual and collective exhibitions in Poland and abroad (Munich, Paris, Basel, Vienna, New York, Austria). The unique pieces of jewellery crafted by Komowski represent the Gdańsk silversmiths in the Goldsmithery Museum in Kazimierz Dolny.

Due to the limited exhibition space the artist's output could not be fully represented here. However, if this event succeeds in preserving his image as a fascinating artist, encouraging the viewers to reflect and ponder, the exhibition will fulfil its purpose with respect to the man who lived and worked in Gdańsk, promoting this city and region abroad, as well as doing voluntary work for the art circles and residents of Tri-City.