Artists

Przemysław Piniak

Press release

This solo exhibition of Przemysław Piniak, an intermedia artist who died prematurely, marks the first institutional effort to take a broader look at his work. The exhibition's curators follow the mythology he created and his characteristic aesthetic of excess. The sketches, objects, and paintings on canvas and furniture fronts presented here are not intended to form a self-contained retrospective. The exhibition's title is the phrase "poszło w pięty" ("it went to waste"), which the artist used frequently; it describes both Piniak's own approach to the art world and the sense of shame and conviction of inevitable negative judgment internalized in his work. In the visual and textual narratives created by Piniak, exaggerated figures wander through a city in constant disrepair, seeking solace in consumption. Here, any deviation from the norm means social condemnation, and the desire for visibility and the celebration of one's own status is intertwined with the experience of rejection and judgment by others. The exhibition will also include voices and interventions from the artist's friends to highlight the importance of relationships and communities in an art world focused on the celebration of individuals. Piniak Przemysław (Przemysław Piński) was born in 1986 in Szczeczolio (as he used to call his hometown of Szczecin) and passed away last year. Active in visual arts, as a performer, and a futurist, he created fantastical visions and told futuristic tales illustrated with installations, paintings, as well as audio theater. Social exclusion—something he had experienced since childhood—and attempts at developing new ways for people to communicate with each other counted among major, recurring themes in his output. As a painter he graduated from the Academy of Art in Szczecin (2019) and the University of the Arts Poznan (2021). In 2023 he was artist-in-residence at the ZAMEK Culture Centre in Poznań. In 2021 he participated in the Mistress's Studio (Studio Mistrzyni) project with Joanna Rajkowska at BWA Wrocław. His graduation project in Poznań received an honorable mention in the 2022 Maria Dokowicz Competition, and his video performance piece "PylniceP" was recognized likewise in the 2018 edition of Young Wolves in Szczecin. He was shortlisted for Hestia Artistic Journey in 2021. His works have been exhibited at BWA Wrocław, ZAMEK in Poznań, Warsaw's Foksal Gallery, the Spectra Art Space of the Starak Family Foundation, and Galeria Labirynt in Lublin, among other institutions. Over the years, his solo shows included: "Eyes from the Center of the Head" at the Łęctwo Gallery, as part of the Warsaw Gallery Weekend (2023); "Princess Marcin" at the ZAMEK Culture Centre in Poznań (2023); "Demons" at Nowy Złoty in Wrocław (2022); "Puck Island and Floating Breads" at Zona Sztuki Aktualnej in Szczecin (2022); "Fear Makes Mice Drop Their Ears" at Łęctwo in Poznań (2021); "Pożegnanie z wiekiem chrystusowym" [Older now than Christ ever was] at UAP's gallery Na Wysokim Poziomie (2020); "W następnym życiu będę drzewem albo komputerem, w tym jestem człowiek z misją" [I shall reincarnate into a tree or a computer when I die; in this life I am a human being on a mission] at the Spectra Art Space in Warsaw (2020); "Wróblok" [Sparrow] at Łęctwo in Poznań (2019); "To się nie broni" [This is not going to hold] at Próżnia in Szczecin (2019).