Artur PRZEBINDOWSKI (b. 1967), Inside the City - Diptych, 2017

Acrylic, canvas; 21 x 27 cm (size of each work);
Signed p. d.: ARTUR PRZEBINDOWSKI;
Sign, date and author's description on the back: ARTUR PRZEBINDOWSKI 2017 / WNĘTRZE MIASTA (...) [consecutive number] /DYPTYK/.

Graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow. Diploma in the studio of Prof. Roman Banaszewski in 1993. The artist is the winner of the Grand Prix in the painting competition "Shower - Birth of Pleasure" in Bad Zwischenahn, Germany in 1998, the winner of the Grand Prix of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage at the XXIII Festival of Polish Contemporary Painting in Szczecin in 2010, and a distinction at the 40th Biennale of Painting Bielska Jesień 2011. Since 1995, he regularly presents his works at exhibitions in Poland and abroad. The characteristic feature of this painting is a well-thought-out construction of the image, multifaceted, interpenetration and complementation of multiple perspectives and plans. Visually interesting fragments of urban space, become a pretext for the artist to create, autonomous systems of plastic signs, the effect of which is enhanced by multiplication and compositional procedures. An important function of this painting is also sensitivity to the sensual qualities of the work, such as color and light. He is the author of twenty individual exhibitions, including multiple exhibitions at Kersten Gallery in Cracow, Tamka Gallery in Warsaw (2006), an exhibition accompanying the XXII Festival of Polish Contemporary Painting in Szczecin (2008) and the series "Megalopolis" shown at BWA Bielska Gallery and Regional Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts "Konduktorownia" in Częstochowa (2011). He has participated in group exhibitions, including: in the Stara Kordegarda in Warsaw (1996), the exhibition of the Miyauchi Foundation Poland-Japan, Tokyo (1996), 10 Painters from Poland at the Cultural Center in Athens (2000), the exhibition Into Europe, New Art for the New Reality at Bloxham Gallery in London (2004).
The diptych, which refers to the Megalopolis series of paintings, the same one that was awarded at the 40th Bielska Autumn Biennale in 2011, is a motif characteristic of the artist, corresponding, if only on the basis of the titles, to ancient Greek cities. The theme, which has been taken up many times, but each time in a different form, whether in color or composition, is the result of constant reflection on the condition of man in the modern city. The artist explores the relationship between the urban fabric and its inhabitants, their constant interaction with each other. The artist himself states: "It is primarily about the convincing ability to tell a story about oneself, i.e. about a person. The city in its material structure is a trace of human presence, and in the emotional layer - a trace of the limited human condition. Compositional treatments, multiplication serve to expose and intensify this phenomenon." The presented works, framed within the narrow frame of the canvas, may suggest a focus on the microcosm of man. On what he builds himself and what gives him his identity. Marek Rembierz writes about the works as follows: "Despite the fact that the civilization of "overpopulated cities" is not conducive to practicing art in the classical sense, as individuals striving to satisfy their needs "rub against each other until they bleed." Nevertheless, Przebindowski manages to lead us into a painting that is somehow classical and distanced from the ruthlessly imposing demands of everyday life, observing the paradoxical features of metropolitan space and the peculiar human presence in this densely populated area, in which, after all, "we live as if on an island / inhabited by few beings." The dynamics and drama of the existential struggle with the city space becomes the main theme of the "Megalopolis" series.
(source: arturprzebindowski.pl, culture.pl)