„Windowless Car”
Curated by Domenico de Chirico
Nicola Pedana Gallery
Caserta, Italy

 

From the late 18th century through the first half of the 19th, starting in England, with the so-called Industrial Revolution, we see the dawn of a process of growth and economic development, technological innovation, profound transformation of the socio-cultural apparatus, and the industrialisation of the global macrosystem and social structure as a whole. At this time, endless discussion, multifaceted experiments, profound reflections and bold advances led to a moment, spreading quickly, in which the relationship between human beings and the inanimate was stabilised and formulated, with complications, encompassing progressive ideas and unpredictable dynamics. The centuries-old question of this complex pairing has been thoroughly investigated countless times, and is increasingly relevant today. But what is most interesting to us here is the way, based on a similar aporia, the new body of work from young Polish artist Krzysztof Grzybacz, born in 1993, originates and branches out. This work is brought together here under the title „Windowless car”.

On the depersonalization of the individual, Grzybacz asks himself and us, considering the incomprehensibility, dislocation and alienation typical of mass society, how all of this is reflected in each of us, and how a collective problem can be refracted on an individual level. What follows is a discovery of his gentle but highly conflicting paintings. They feature velvety, almost blurred, strokes that evoke the real and metaphorical suffocating gases constantly produced by our unstoppable machines, and more distinct metallic reflections that the artist skilfully and masterfully recreates, suggesting the sparkle of mighty industrial structures. Here, progress becomes paradoxically charming, due to Grzybacz’s chromatic choices, which range from shades of purple to acid green and fluorescent yellow. One can sense the ticking and sulphurous rhythm of industry, with its corollary of machines, with fresh and brilliant colours, sparkling pastel shades with soft and sharp strokes. We can observe a unique and urgent pictorial action: light-hearted, emblematic of an esprit libre, positivist, poetic, and with a fairy-tale flavour.

And so, what will prevail? Silent and aware, though dazed by the cacophony of steel and industrial greyness around us, we can only reflect by observing the world through the window of a car, or simply closing our eyes to redesign it exactly how we would like it to be. Krzysztof Grzybacz’s world is certainly diverse, subject-wise, because it excludes nothing. Pleasant and courteous, bizarre and fantastical, through never denying what has been, what is and what will be.

Text by Domenico de Chirico
Photo: Danilo Donzelli