Tomasz Cichowski
Tomasz Cichowski is a painter, draftsman, and photographer who has exhibited extensively in Poland and internationally in the United Kingdom and Germany. Recent exhibitions include galleries and fairs such as Glass Cloud Gallery in London, The Other Art Fair in Bristol, England, the University of Silesia and dual shows at Fabularna lounge bar & gallery in Katowice, Poland, Tomasz has been featured by Artevie Publishing and he has self-published numerous catalogues of his own works which are showcased on his website.
The portfolio entails minimalist acrylic paintings, abstracted photographs, and smeared ink drawings. Through extensive sets of series he indulges in many variations of interpretation of space and form. With a sense of quiet stillness and contemplative nature, Tomasz works are best enjoyed with intense but a relaxed focus on the landscape of pigment and form.
Usually monochromatic or containing dual neutral tones, the various works, no matter which medium, communicate a peculiarity and unfamiliar surface. Although the works may appear non-objective they are in fact conceptual pieces carefully composed to convey various emotional impulses. The works either sit on the plane of the surface in blocks of form or through rapid streaks and smears conveying minimalistic and color field painting design principles. Sometimes appearing like hints of forms such as a pair of legs or views of the ocean, Tomasz distorts his subjects to be unrecognizable or having the audience question whether the works are complete abstractions or deliberate distortions.
Vacant Space # 17 (pictured above) remains a small disjointed diptych which best communicates Tomasz minimalist concepts and design principles through purity of form and just hints of variation. Severely angular, the painting contains just 4 thin stripes of rectangles to indicate separation of form from the white elliptical triangle shapes against the raw canvas. Like dislodged mountains or an abstracted form of a Mercedes Benz, the painting’s peculiarity challenges the viewer’s notions between objectivity and abstract geometry.
Tomasz Cichowski portrays mysterious compositions which push the psychological limitations of the mind. Through composed space, geometry, asymmetry, and angularity, he expands beyond familiarity and towards minimalistic scapes which evoke the senses. These works cross boundaries, not just within their own composition, but also when placed in a room evoking beyond the confines of canvas or frame.
