Andrzej Urbanski: Intersected
Everard Read London
10 November - 2 December 2023
Everard Read London presents an exhibition of new works by Cape Town-based artist, Andrzej Urbanski (b. 1983 in Poznan, Poland), known for his meticulous, hard-edged abstract paintings and sculpture.
Andrzej Urbanski’s source material is memory, sensory and spatial encounters as well as emotional and psychic states, all of which he deftly works into the overlapping colourful, geometric shapes and the precise, intricate forms for which he is best known.
The bold shards of colour characterising Andrzej Urbanski’s art may recall objects, places and experiences from his youth - the colour of a building or a room - or they may be a manifestation of his state of mind as he enters his studio.
In this collection, the artist presents both high and low frequency works as well as a synthesis between these modes. The result, in many of the paintings, is an animated balance between the medium frequency in his faceted forms, and high frequency in his use of colour.
Sinuous, curved edges have found their way into this new body of work - a new characteristic which the artist attributes, in part, to the experience of his becoming a father. These soft edges add visual interest and contrast, without disrupting the symmetry of Andrzej Urbanski’s creations.
The artist favours the use of spray paint as it produces flat colour and removes any trace of the ‘artist’s hand’. This conforms not only to the minimalist ethos, but also to his desire to replicate imagery that appears to be digitally generated.
Urbanski's interest in creating this illusion is rooted in his fascination with digitally-produced art, the digital tools he uses in mapping his intricate compositions and the status assigned to handmade products in the post-industrial era. It is also informed by his appreciation for the minimalist movement, although he is influenced by a range of high modernists, from Rothko to Mondrian. As art commentator Mary Corrigall observed, “Urbanski has settled on a vocabulary and aesthetic that chimes with these times though its lines extend back in time.”
*The Cape Times (23 August, 2017)
EVERARD READ LONDON
80 Fulham Road London, SW3 6HR
