Edward Dwurnik, COOL FLAME, 1985

120.0 x 114.0 cm - oil, canvas oil, canvas with strips of linen canvas glued at the edges

Sign. p.: 8 | E DWURNIK [signature partially cut off].

On the reverse p.: 1985 | E. DWURNIK | COOL | FLAME | NO.: IX. 323. | 1090, on the cross bar of the loom stamp: 146 [crossed out] / 114 x 120 [lead] >>CHŁODNY PŁOMIEŃ<< | 1985.

The format of the painting was altered by Dwurnik (or at his request) by gluing strips of canvas to the previously cut image. The fact that this was the artist's action is evidenced by the corrections on the reverse of the painting (the change in dimension written in the artist's hand).

The painting described:

- Dwurnik. Inventory of Painting Cycles, compiled by. Pola Dwurnik, Zachęta Gallery, Warsaw 2001, p. nlb. as part of cycle IX, cat. 323 [technique described as: oil, canvas, board, dimension: 120 x 110 cm].

In the series of paintings Hitchhiking, Edward Dwurnik made painterly attempts to comment on what Poland lived from the late 1960s through the subsequent decades of the 20th century. Aiming to depict events, situations or the climate accompanying various events, he tried to render not only the "journalistic" content of certain situations, but above all to bring out the painterly expression of the chosen motif. The painting on display was created in the turbulent 1980s, which was a time of workers' strikes, the rise of "Solidarity" and brutal repression after the introduction of martial law, as well as a period of heightened patriotic and religious feelings. The dramatic time saturated Dwurnik's paintings with expression and caused the painter's means to change as well - the colors became duller and the brush stroke more violent.

♣ A fee will be added to the auctioned price in addition to other costs, based on the right of the artist and his heirs to receive remuneration in accordance with the Law of February 4, 1994 - on Copyright and Related Rights (droit de suite).

Edward Dwurnik (Radzymin 19 IV 1943 - Warsaw 28 X 2018) studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw (1963-1970), but cites Nikifor as his "master." It was his works, seen for the first time in 1965, that inspired the then third-year student to draw the first works of the "Hitchhiking Journeys" series, which he continued in the following years. In 1972-1978 was created the series "Sportsmen", which portrayed, add bitingly, typical figures of the 1970s. In parallel, from 1975 was created the series "Workers", which culminated in the period of "Solidarity" 1980-1981. For works from this series Dwurnik received the 1981 Art Criticism Award of Cyprian Kamil Norwid. Cyprian Kamil Norwid Art Criticism Award, while for his paintings from the series "Warsaw" (1981), prophetically foreshadowing martial law - he received the Cultural Award of the "Solidarity" underground in 1983. In the 1980s Dwurnik's painting took on expressive and dramatic expression. The paintings created in this decade often had a political overtone, they also took on a historical costume, in one way or another referring to contemporary issues and realities. The series "Road to the East" (1989-91) commemorated the victims of Stalinism, while the series "From December to June" (1990-94) - the victims of martial law. Both the ideological and purely painterly qualities of these works brought the artist great recognition, both at home and abroad. Its expression was the prestigious award of the Coutts & Co Foundation in Zurich (1992). In the 1990s, series are created as a continuation of "Hitchhiking Journeys": "Blue Cities" (from 1993) and "Diagonals" (from 1996), as well as compositions of a new type, such as sea views (the "Blue" series, 1992-93) and the "Enumeration" series (1996-99). The artist has exhibited extensively, has had about 100 solo exhibitions in Poland and abroad, and has participated in numerous national and international exhibitions and festivals, including: the 10th Biennale of Contemporary Art, Menton 1974, Documenta 7, Kassel 1982, the 5th Biennale, Sydney 1985, the 19th Art Biennale, Sao Paulo 1987; the Olympics of Art, Seoul 1988. In parallel with painting, he practiced drawing, collage, printmaking (lithography, metal techniques, xerography, stamps) and applied graphics (illustration, posters for his own solo exhibitions).