COMPETITION
Decision of jury will be announced
in 14th of October at 7 p.m.
at BWA AWANGARDA GALLERY
ul. Wita Stwosza 32, Wrocław, PL
more about Awangarda Gallery:
http://www.bwa.wroc.pl/index.php?b=1&w=1&l=pl
About the Competition:
What does a painter do? - Patrycja Sikora
The idea of the Geppert Competition, combined with the presentation of all its works in the form of a collective exhibition, came into being in 1989 and was initiated by the teaching staff of the Higher School of Visual Arts, art critics from Wrocław and Hanna Krzetuska – the late Eugeniusz Geppert’s wife. He was a painter and professor, eminent art teacher, one of the founders and first rector of what is today the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław. Back then, the aim of the contest for young painters was promoting talented art graduates on the one hand, and commemorating its patron, an exceptional Wrocław personality, on the other. Professor Geppert was a truly historic figure in Wrocław’s artistic circles, which were formed practically from scratch in those early post-war times. Before Eugeniusz Geppert arrived here in 1946 from Cracow, he had been a student in Jacek Malczewski’s studio (1). He later became himself a teacher and mentor of the whole generation of professors in Wrocław, so famous for their open attitude towards all kinds of painting experiments. Today, he is not only the patron of the painting competition, but also of the Academy itself, an ASP foundation, and an art gallery situated in Geppert’s flat/studio in the former Rybisch House. After the first edition of the Geppert Competition finished in spring 1989, the organizers were hoping the idea would survive, helping promote young painters in the new Polish democracy. And that was exactly what happened. The contest, at first aiming to support art graduates from Wrocław, was gradually gaining in significance, to become an important all-Polish event presenting the whole panorama of young painting two decades later.
The competition, co-organized by Wrocław’s Academy of Fine Arts and BWA Galleries of Contemporary Art, has finally evolved to become a review of selected works held on a biennial basis. The distinguishing feature among other such competitions in Poland is its exclusivity based on the multistage selection of admitted participants. It also limits the entrants to those within the maximum of three years after graduation, which means that only artists who begin their solo careers can qualify. For such artists, the competition is often the first real confirmation of the value of their work, a turning point which encourages them to further develop their talent. The Board of Experts, with its members alternating since 2009, ensures the selection by nominating the contestants first, and then narrowing them down to the 25 most interesting artists whose works are presented in the exhibition. This year’s Board of Experts, invited to select the participants of the 10th edition of the competition, was composed of 16 distinguished art teachers, critics and curators from all over the country. The choice was not easy – the two-day deliberations turned out to be quite emotional. In the last stage, the Jury assesses the competition works and awards the prizes, traditionally funded by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, Mayor of Wrocław, Rector of the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław, and the director of Wrocław’s BWA. The overall prize value, currently 60,000 zloties, is among the highest offered in competitions promoting contemporary art in Poland.
The 10th Geppert Competition is entitled “What does a painter do?” The theme question may be understood in a variety of ways: What do the painters of the youngest generation do (and is it really painting)? What are their interests and fascinations? How do they exploit the painting medium? How do they define painting? It seems that everybody is looking for good answers here, not only the jurors, critics or curators, but also – and perhaps most of all – the audiences coming to see the contest exhibition. In fact, the theme is universal, just as the titles of the previous editions were. For over two decades now, we have been either secretly or quite openly awaiting artistic declarations which would let us draw nearer to some absolute truth in this artistic genre, touching the throbbing pulse of a new, unidentified, hitherto unknown phenomenon. Wouldn’t we all like to be its discoverers? Defining, labelling, judging, systematising – they are all natural elements in finding our point of reference, allowing us to orientate ourselves among the dizzying, polyphonic channels of contemporary art and its de-categorisation. If we were to venture a defining summary of the so-called young painting based on the last few editions of the Geppert Competition, we should say that those recently assessed works display signs of a specific polarisation of artistic practice. On the one hand, there is a number of artists cultivating the traditional painting values – top-quality skills, refined technique, elements of dialogue with historical conventions and artistic personalities. On the other hand, there is an equally numerous group of artists who seek alternatives for the traditionally understood painting – new solutions and new means of expression to match the changing reality and better convey their fascination in this medium. Using techniques like video, installation or performance, young artists experiment to re-establish conventions and shift the boundaries that have been revised so many times before. The 10th edition of the Geppert Competition, entitled “What does a painter do?”, undertakes to present both these approaches, as well as everything that is in between. After all, there are still artists completely uninterested in playing with conventions, those genetically equipped with sensitivity to “painting” which is present in other realms. Some of them are painting graduates who have never even touched a brush. Not because they want to rebel against something, but simply because their natural artistic environment is elsewhere. Their works resist defining. And thank God for that.
No matter how successful the competition may be in diagnosing what painting is hic et nunc, together with the exhibition it is hoped to be a good vantage point for observing the current processes. The greatest merit of the Geppert Competition is gathering the best works of young Polish artists in one place and at the same time – within a single exhibition. Another crucial value is creating space for discussions on painting, both among the members of the Board and the Jury, as well as allowing the critics and – thanks to the media – the public to have their say too. Those observations and discussions seem especially important, even though their conclusions may prove to be invalidated by the historical perspective, which ultimately crystallises the mainstream and fringes of art.
Another issue naturally following the idea of any competition is its element of rivalry. The assessment of artwork is invariably based on comparison, which in itself is problematic. How to judge somebody’s maturity, ingenuity or the message included in a piece of art? How to compare it with the maturity and ingenuity of another person whose works are displayed next to it? Which categories to use? Assessing the value of a piece of art is generally agreed to be a matter of social consent, a sort of contract between specialists (critics, curators, jurors) and recipients (viewers). Its aim is to establish what is valuable in art and may deserve attention, and what is not. The conditions of such a contract never cease to be negotiated, and that also pertains to the Geppert Competition. The choices made by specialists may be disputed, just like any situation resulting from an agreement may be contested. The issue of artistic “rivalry” for the title of the “best painter” is discussed in the other texts in this catalogue, by Andrzej Kostołowski and Piotr Stasiowski – art critics involved in the past editions of the event. Their aim is also to offer two different views of the Geppert Competition from a slightly broader perspective, to some extent attempting a summary of its ten episodes.
Apart from profiles of the participants of this year’s edition, this catalogue presents a chronological outline of the past exhibitions accompanying the competition. The list features names of numerous distinguished artists and luminaries, currently members of the Polish artistic elite, including such famous painters as Wilhelm Sasnal, Zbigniew Rogalski, Grzegorz Sztwiertnia, Paulina Ołowska and Laura Pawela. Members of the nominating boards and juries have included Anda Rottenberg, Piotr Piotrowski and Jerzy Ludwiński.
We hope that the competition will promote many outstanding artists whose names are not yet known to the general public today.
Patrycja Sikora
Wojciech Pukocz
(1) Kalendarium, ed. M. Drobińska, in: Eugeniusz Geppert, 1890-1979. Painting and Drawings. Exhibition catalogue. Municipal Museum in Wrocław, Old City Hall, Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław, Wrocław 2001, p. 50, 56.
[entry text fot 10th Geppert Competition catalogue (in printing)]
