Filip Bacławski
It’s Pretty Warm. Self-portrait in August, 2022
Color pencil, oil pastel and pencil on paper
12 x 8 inches
Thierry Goldberg is pleased to present Over Time, an online exhibition of works by Filip Bacławski. The exhibition runs from November 18 - December 17, 2022.
Over Time investigates the meaningful often ordinary moments that forge a sense of community and connection. Drawing inspiration from people and places that surround him, Bacławski utilizes the act of portraiture as a form of record keeping. Each portrait relishes in the simplicity of day-to-day moments, resulting in a body of work that aches with the closeness of companionship.
Employing bold colors and inventive patterns, Bacławski situates his golden figures alone engaged in moments of deep contemplation. Utilizing the face as the starting point for his compositions, the features and expressions of his figures dictate each drawing's overall disposition. In Marta in September, 2022, a woman in a floral sweater stares idly out in the distance. Her hands connect in her lap serving as a subtle suggestion of her internal absorption. There is a calmness this figure exudes, an inferred sense of intimacy exposed in her ability to daydream disarmed.
Captivated by the unavoidable act of change, Bacławski repeatedly returns to certain subjects and faces. In Marta Looking at the Photo, 2022, Marta reappears, her facial features rendered a bit softer as she curls up on a blue striped chair. She holds on tight to a photograph, engrossed in the act of viewing without acknowledging her own observation. Cloaked by a sweater that hangs heavy with narrative, Marta’s character is revealed through the milieu of faces and places that envelop her. Marta’s existence becomes meta-physical, defined through the collection of self-referential moments of attachment and engagement.
Intermixing people, places, and patterns, Bacławski’s works often exhibit a patchwork quality. Self-portrait in Nowa Cerkiw, 2022, displays Bacławski amid an amalgamation of vivid colors and ornamentation. Bacławski positions himself in the center of the illustration adorned with a jacket that has been layered with faces. Each face, an ornamental element in itself, serves as a signifier of the individual relationships he holds in reverence. Rectangular strips of decorative patterns alternate throughout the work culminating in twelve squares of sunflowers that frame him. The sunflowers infuse a sense of sentimentality into the work, each adaptation exposing ephemeral aspects of the passage of time.
Utilizing portraiture as a form of diary keeping, Bacławski’s drawings mark minuscule moments of transformation. There is a sense of closeness exuded by each portrait, each slight act of progression serving as an observance of time. Pattern becomes a form of muscle memory turning each portrait into a parodic reflection of the bond Bacławski fosters with himself as well as the world around him.
Filip Bacławski (b. 2000 Chojnice, Poland) lives and works in Poznań, Poland. This is Bacławski's first show with Thierry Goldberg Gallery.
Over Time investigates the meaningful often ordinary moments that forge a sense of community and connection. Drawing inspiration from people and places that surround him, Bacławski utilizes the act of portraiture as a form of record keeping. Each portrait relishes in the simplicity of day-to-day moments, resulting in a body of work that aches with the closeness of companionship.
Employing bold colors and inventive patterns, Bacławski situates his golden figures alone engaged in moments of deep contemplation. Utilizing the face as the starting point for his compositions, the features and expressions of his figures dictate each drawing's overall disposition. In Marta in September, 2022, a woman in a floral sweater stares idly out in the distance. Her hands connect in her lap serving as a subtle suggestion of her internal absorption. There is a calmness this figure exudes, an inferred sense of intimacy exposed in her ability to daydream disarmed.
Captivated by the unavoidable act of change, Bacławski repeatedly returns to certain subjects and faces. In Marta Looking at the Photo, 2022, Marta reappears, her facial features rendered a bit softer as she curls up on a blue striped chair. She holds on tight to a photograph, engrossed in the act of viewing without acknowledging her own observation. Cloaked by a sweater that hangs heavy with narrative, Marta’s character is revealed through the milieu of faces and places that envelop her. Marta’s existence becomes meta-physical, defined through the collection of self-referential moments of attachment and engagement.
Intermixing people, places, and patterns, Bacławski’s works often exhibit a patchwork quality. Self-portrait in Nowa Cerkiw, 2022, displays Bacławski amid an amalgamation of vivid colors and ornamentation. Bacławski positions himself in the center of the illustration adorned with a jacket that has been layered with faces. Each face, an ornamental element in itself, serves as a signifier of the individual relationships he holds in reverence. Rectangular strips of decorative patterns alternate throughout the work culminating in twelve squares of sunflowers that frame him. The sunflowers infuse a sense of sentimentality into the work, each adaptation exposing ephemeral aspects of the passage of time.
Utilizing portraiture as a form of diary keeping, Bacławski’s drawings mark minuscule moments of transformation. There is a sense of closeness exuded by each portrait, each slight act of progression serving as an observance of time. Pattern becomes a form of muscle memory turning each portrait into a parodic reflection of the bond Bacławski fosters with himself as well as the world around him.
Filip Bacławski (b. 2000 Chojnice, Poland) lives and works in Poznań, Poland. This is Bacławski's first show with Thierry Goldberg Gallery.