Krzysztof Klimek: Now I Prefer the Views

The exhibition of paintings by Krzysztof Klimek presents a wide selection of realistic landscape painting, which since 2004, alongside the geometric-abstract trend realised earlier, has been the core of his work. The exhibition of almost 60 works presents a representative cross-section of themes and painting motifs over the years. They show the artist's journey from abstractions and still lifes composed in the space of his studio, through increasingly realistic views from its windows and doors, shots of corridors and courtyards, and finally out into the wider space of the cities, towns and villages in which he stayed.

The landscapes reveal a fascination with colour, texture and geometric motifs. Painted from different perspectives, the composition of the frame is reminiscent of photographic shots, which build tension in the image by changing the focal length of the lens, curving or shortening the perspective in order to most faithfully convey the way the motif is seen. Such a procedure helps to show the uniqueness of the gaze and emphasises the importance of the artist's painterly technique, which reliably defines the field of vision, capturing its shape and colour energy. In this way, he follows its faithful representation rather than artistic interpretation. The motifs here are everyday sights - ordinariness, the world seen up close, without pathos or idealisation, tangible in its colloquiality and naturalness.

The title of the exhibition is the words of Krzysztof Klimek, quoted by Marek Chlanda - they are an accurate mental shortcut defining the area of the artist's current interests, and at the same time his commentary on being true to his autonomous creative vision. The theme of the 'view' as a natural space for seeing leads the viewer into a unique depicted world, which at the same time turns out to be surprisingly close. The painterly shots and motifs seem familiar from our experiences and memories. They reflect natural ways of looking at everyday reality, always concrete and intensely expressive, regardless of place, mood, season or day.

In addition to oil paintings, the exhibition also presents the artist's photographs created in the 1980s and 1990s, chronologically preceding the period of painterly realism. The black-and-white series, created with passion over a dozen years, was a chronicle of everyday life. In the context of the exhibition, it provides a background and formal counterpoint to the artist's current painting activities.