Bartosz Kokosiński

Bartosz Kokosiński follows his artistic agenda in a multi-threaded, but not necessarily polyphonic way. It rather resembles a gradual metamorphosis, with reducing and rebuilding, yet not so much the narrative threads as the graphic forms. In the attached photographic documentation, the author presents several recent works. His first attempts to use the unconventional (i.e. bent) surfaces date back to his student years, when they had a slightly decorative, design character. In an exceptional, manually dexterous way, Kokosiński tried to reconcile the attractiveness of the object itself with the embedded “attractiveness” of the painting aspect based on figurative elements. The latest works show the young artist’s maturity and courage. He has given up mimetic presentations in favour of more metaphorical corporeality, which gives his objects-pictures an entirely new dimension. Kokosiński reflects on the phenomenon of visual imagery, more physically than speculatively, meditating at a certain distance from the material itself. He devastates canvas painting, deconstructs, overthrows and pushes it out, but all these gestures still entangle him in an unequivocal context. It must also be noted that his artistic imagination, concentrating mainly on objects (and to some extent video), is almost unlimited. Every single intuition, including those seemingly unfeasible, is thoroughly processed and results in a complete artifact shaped precisely the way the artist described earlier in an informal conversation. Kokosiński is extremely concentrated while working. It allows him to find difficult but fully convincing graphic solutions which, despite their roughness, remain visually alluring without falling into the “optical charade” trap. He is an artist whose skills, energy and imagination are seldom seen in one person. He could easily paint conventionally with equal success, or juggle various styles. However, he has chosen his own way without calculating whether it would pay off in terms of limelight publicity or not. I wholeheartedly recommend both the artist and his attitude.