Paweł Matyszewski

Paweł Matyszewski is one of the most promising young artists. His first individual exhibition was held in the Arsenał Gallery in Białystok in 2010. This year he has been also awarded the Golden Spur statuette at the Young Painters Review “Promocje” organized by the Art Gallery in Legnica. He is a phenomenon because of his unusual approach to the picture. He mixes genres and conventions, his works refer both to photography and handicraft, some may even be classified as objects rather than pictures in the traditional sense. His surfaces are full of bulges, concavities, even foreign matter from systems other than the painting order (e.g. human hair). It makes the paintings haptic, welcoming to touch, even though they are occasionally repulsive. However, they remain subtle, minimalistic, almost abstract. They arouse emotions and do not leave you indifferent, probably due to the fact that they often resemble human skin, complete with its tattoos, scars, bruises, networks of thin capillaries, worn out or torn epidermis. The story told by the artist is directly reflected on the body. What makes the canvases characteristic is their colour diversity and abjectional element (we seem to be confronted with a real human body!). In this way, the author transgresses the boundary between the representative and real (bodily) order. The corporeality of the pictures is both attractive and repulsive – the extraordinary patterns on the canvas/body fascinate, while the clearly marked tissue degradation (to the point of degeneration) frightens. Matyszewski’s artistic expression is very personal at the same time. His pictures tell stories of wounds, fears, pain, but also hope. His works are full of understatements and mystery. Emotions and feelings are hidden under the skin.