Jacek Zdanowski was born in Lublin in 1961. He currently takes part in Occupational Therapy Workshops at the Polish Association for Persons with Metal Handicap in Lublin. His works have been presented at numerous exhibitions, both in Poland and abroad (International Art Exhibition of the Disabled People in Lublin; International Art Exhibition of the Mentally Handicapped People in Louvre - Paris; International Art Exhibition of the Mentally Handicapped People in Milan; “Taming the World” at the Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle – Warsaw). Animals are primary theme of Jacek Zdanowski’s art. His inspirations are provided by the natural world as well as book illustrations. He transforms familiar motifs and recreates them in his own, unique style. The artist is keen to work with large formats, using bright, vivid colours and well defined contours. His forms are streamlined, rounded, gentle. At times almost abstract. The imagery is harmonious, a serenity of colour and form, and where the painting grows darker, the artist is still able to break the inherent sadness of the composition by adding just the right colour for a given context.
The painter rarely talks about his work. No-one really knows the emotions/thoughts/plans of the artist as he approaches a new project. Slowly and patiently, one colour stain and one line at a time, the painting unveils its mystery, gradually becoming something beautiful to behold. His works are done on large canvas formats in poster paint and on large paper formats in dry pastel. The artist begins by creating coloured contours (often black), starting from the centre of the canvas and proceeding in a labyrinth of rounded forms which initially escapes comprehension, gently laid down with a broad brush. At times the forms will verge on abstraction, at other times the contours will eventually reveal an animalistic shape or an element of the natural world. The author’s works radiate a sense of harmony, serenity of colour and shape. He will often allow the viewers to suggest names for his paintings.
Caterpillar
“Caterpillar”, a 70 x 50 cm painting depicting a black contoured creature in the shape of a twisted, small letter ‘j’, crawling from the left, up and to towards the centre of the painting. The snout at the end reveals a flat, red tongue. The body is striped, in places painted in light grey. The creature is surrounded by a lot of tiny monsters – one-eyed cephalopods painted in the form of oval shapes with a dot in the centre. At the top of the painting we see another yellow and red creature with blue eyes. In the top right corner, a dark blue creature with two tiny, orange eyes. From the bottom right corner to the form of the caterpillar creature: 4 cephalopods in different colours: red, green, grey, and black. The creatures have small ears, noses, and black eyes with white central dots. The caterpillar’s tail, or the bottom coil of the small ‘j’, is inhabited by yet another being – a green creature similar to a frog, standing on its head. The frog’s belly is yellow set against a blue background. In the top left, fragments of azure skies with an irregular, yellow, moon-like shape, framed in violet. Jacek Zdanowski initials his works ‘J.Z.’ in the bottom left corner.
