Other Masters

Having rejected avant-garde art as the chief point of reference for contemporary work, artists have been seeking new references beyond former masters, and the academism or fine arts of the 1960s or 1970s; they began reaching out for naive and non-professional art. Contemporary artists are utterly taken with radical rejection of aesthetic and art schematics (relating to the modern perception of art) by their new patrons, and with their extremely subjective viewpoint, undetermined by existent cultural codes. Works by “other masters” are a reminder of the non-institutional sources of artistic creation, unselfishness of art, authenticity, and enthusiasm of creation.

All these fascinations tie in closely with “contemporary folklore” and art developing in the local, non-urban context. The naive artist’s world draws our attention to phenomena remaining unnoticed in the professional art world, in the incessant deluge of new artistic events, one resembling the next. In this section of our exhibition, Łukasz Jastrubczak shows drawings by Edmund Monsiel; Paulina Ołowska shows Jan Kolecki’s posters; Jan Gryka shows painting on objects by Zenek (Iłarion Daniluk).