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Agata Biżek

Damian Czerwinski

“Painting is my joy in life, when I paint I am more active, I observe the world more closely. It enriches me, gives me a boost of confidence”

Damian Czerwiński

Damian Czerwiński was born in Lublin in 1990. He currently resides in Puławy having graduated from Maria Dąbrowska School Complex no. 3 in Puławy.

Despite his relatively young age, he has already had a number of individual exhibitions and participated in several important art competitions for the disabled, winning a number of distinctions including the grand prix in the “Looking for Nikifor” Competition in Siedlce.

His current exhibition at the Art Brut Gallery in Lublin features colourful drawings in oil pastel. They are mostly vedute, less frequently still life images. His focus in this cycle is on the cityscapes of eastern Poland, abstract vedute depicting vistas from the vicinity of the artist’s home area: manors, tenement houses, panoramas of Żyrzyn – his home town, Kazimierz Dolny with its places of worship, as well as a depiction of Poland’s first museum, the architectonic masterpiece of a rotunda, also known as the Temple of Sybil, constituting a part of the Czartoryski Palace and Park Complex in Puławy.

The world of Damian Czerwiński is composed of fascinating, almost fairy-tale like places, which the artist strips of any staffage (human figures, animals, themes that would in any way enliven the composition but draw the viewer’s attention away from the main point of interest) leaving us with imagery that is both familiar and unexpected as it is filtered through Czerwiński’s unique perspective. Tilting tenements, dancing houses and facades, twirling and throbbing materials and textures in the colours of rooftops, all that allows the viewer to tap into the rhythm and harmony of the picturesque towns surrounding Lublin city. At the same time, the images are not deprived of the familiar, recognisable character that encourages us to reacquaint ourselves with those enchanting locales by taking in artistic prowess and unique perspective of the young artist and his inexhaustible curiosity of the world. Damian’s works are rife with nostalgia for the small provincial towns and their unique folklore, the wooden architecture, the leaning fences, the thatched roofs… His seemingly chaotic idiom actually facilitates our reception, becomes a part of the composition itself, allowing the images to stir to life, become more vibrant.

Damian Czerwiński proves himself to be a keen observer of the surrounding world, meticulous about his art and focused on what he sees as the most important aspects of his reality. With unwavering resolve and constant curiosity, he invites us to share in his intimate perspective wherein detail is not a primary concern.

The artist shows surprising boldness in his use of colour and devotion to certain subtle mannerisms which although possibly somewhat accidental and a result of his physical disfunctions, are nonetheless an interesting twist that adds to our positive perception of his works.

Agnieszka Wójtowicz Curator at Art Brut Gallery

Manor in Żyrzyn

Damian Czerwiński’s “Manor in Żyrzyn” from the cycle “My World” is a small, 32 x 48 cm drawing in oil pastel on sapphire carton. The artist likes to depict cities and towns from his home area. The painted image depicts a townscape with a number of homes and houses. Three buildings: larger in the middle and two smaller on the sides, have sloping, undefined, brown roofs. In the foreground, we see a well and on the right hand side a broken tree. On the left hand side we also see the trunk of a tree. The background colour of the carton shows through the paint surface. The image is expressive, imprecise, and somewhat slanting, possibly due to the nature of the artist’s disability. The work is not signed.

Tenements

Damian Czerwiński’s “Tenements” belongs to the cycle “My World” in which the artist portrays cities and towns from his home region. The work is done in oil pastel, 33 x 46 cm, on black carton. Without the title Damian’s drawing would not be easy to decipher. It is sectioned with a white line separating crosswise some two thirds of the image. The lower section is reminiscent of colourful hills, in the bottom left corner we see something that may be an animal and on the right a roughly human shaped figure dressed in yellow. The hills are presented against a bright yellow background. Above the line we see seven triangles, each in a different colour. The triangles are placed against a multicoloured background: interpenetrating shades of navy blue, green and brown. The image is imprecise with the black carton showing through here and there. The drawing is not signed.