The exhibition proved beyond any doubt that Jan Bancewicz is a versatile artist. At the opening in the MDK Gallery, the public had the opportunity to view many excellent paintings. They were diverse, both in terms of form and subject matter. There was room here for landscapes, nudes and still lifes alike.
In addition to paintings, sculptures were also exhibited. And, as with the paintings, the richness of the motifs and shapes attracted attention. Alongside figurative art, the sculptures included, among other works, pieces with a religious character inspired by Polish folk art.
But not only that. One of the works, inspired by Andrzej Strumiłło’s album “Nepal,” depicts an Oriental goddess. The artist admitted that he is interested in various directions in art and is constantly searching. And creating is his life.
When asked about his creative process, the artist joked: “You take a canvas, paints and paint.” Whether he reaches for a brush or a chisel depends, as he said, on his mood. He feels most comfortable in painting. However, when he grows tired of painting, a “longing for wood” appears. Anything can be an inspiration: a landscape or “a beetle sitting on a tree trunk.” Sculpting is a much more difficult activity, also because of the material—linden wood must season for at least three years before something durable can be created from it.
As he admitted, this exhibition is special to him because at the Youth Cultural Centre Gallery he feels as though he were in his own studio. He named the great Polish realists Jan Matejko, Juliusz and Wojciech Kossak, and Józef Chełmoński as his favourite painters since his school days. He also said that he had gone through a period of great fascination with Michelangelo’s sculpture and Raphael’s portraits, valuing Raphael more highly than Leonardo da Vinci.
Jan Bancewicz’s works have been exhibited, among other places, in Canada, the United States, France and Switzerland. This is another exhibition by the artist in our town and the first comprehensive one.
(GA information)