The Iron Man exhibition brings together works by two artists from very different generations, who speak of important but unapparent layers of human emotionality. What also unites them is their perfectionism in their medium of choice and their attention to the quality of the idea introduced into the common social space.
The exhibition is also the first solo presentation of Paweł Jach’s paintings in Wroclaw. This interior designer, painter, teacher and social activist was born in Łódź in 1945, but has lived and worked in Wałbrzych for many years.
Jach’s paintings, mostly figurative, often focusing on silhouettes and nudes of young men in futuristic and surrealistic settings, are characterised by a high level of technical skill. In line with the artist’s philosophy, his most recent series of oil paintings, Multikulti and Hortus Conclusus, express admiration for the beauty of the cosmos, earthly nature and human achievements, as well as approval for naturism, civil partnerships, the idea of free love and different gender identities.
These paintings can be classified as sui generis, i.e. singular and unique, while at the same time playing the role of secular icons due to their peculiar mysticism. As far as the painter’s technique is concerned, however, associations with the centuries-old convention of trompe l’oeil come to mind. Highly appreciated at European courts, it plays optical and mimetic games with the viewer, creating an illusion so perfect that senses other than sight are needed to see through it. It is astonishing that, despite the full commitment to his artistic development and the scope of his unique concept of painterly figuration, Paweł Jach has so far failed to make a name for himself on the Wrocław art scene, functioning instead on the periphery of local visual art trends of recent decades.
The second part of the exhibition, and at the same time its conclusion, takes the form of a sculpture by Krystian Truth Czaplicki. The artist addresses the subject of power structures, questioning social norms and visualising current political unrest. The massive and dominant silhouette of a half-naked man, fused with a pacifist emblem, is a kind of social satire that refers to contemporary perceptions of the 21st-century human being.
Curator: Anna Kołodziejczyk
