Mateusz Piestrak

Mateusz Pietrak graduated from the Faculty of Painting and Drawing of the University of the Arts in Poznań in 2016. He defended his diploma under the supervision of prof. Włodzimierz Dudkowiak. He was quickly appreciated by the critics and fellow painters alike, which was best proved by the awards he won – Grand Prix of the 36th Maria Dokowicz Competition and Artistic Award of the NOWY OBRAZ / NOWE SPOJRZENIE Competition.

The large canvases – bold in their colour juxtapositions, full of permeating surfaces and abstract shapes – bring to mind the idea of experimental actions. It is also legitimate to see them in the context of glitch art, characterized by error aesthetics – fragmentation, modification, misalignment, replication and layering of consecutive structures. Pietrak uses the present to connect it with the past tradition. He juxtaposes abstract blots and surfaces with fragmented and simplified realistic/figurative elements. They often refer to existing paintings or sculptures. Such a combination, montage, also pertains to the tools and techniques he uses in his work. The artist creates collages, uses photographic techniques and cut-out stencils, but also computer graphic design software.

Mateusz Pietrak stands out among other painters of his generation. His canvases have a strong impact on the viewer, they are seductive and intriguing. They are an interesting record of struggle and quest of a 21st-century artist.

Karolina Leśnik

www.mateuszpiestrak.pl

Education

2016–2019 Studia doktoranckie na Wydziale Malarstwa i Rysunku, Uniwersytet Artystyczny w Poznaniu
2016 Uniwersytet Artystyczny w Poznaniu, Wydział Malarstwa i Rysunku

Individual Exhibitions

2017 Modernization, GATE Art Zone, Düsseldorf
2017 Two more heads would appear in its place, MITCH + CO/Parasol Projects, Nowy Jork
2017 Non-places, Allerstraße 15, Berlin
2017 Teraz budując zacznę od dymu z komina, Curators’ LAB, Poznań
2017 Stream not found, Assembly Gallery, Poznań
2015 Granica, Galeria Nowa, Poznań
2014 Out, Pawilon Sztuki ERGO Hestia, Warszawa

Collective Exhibitions

2018 Art-lobster-tart, A3 Gallery, Moskwa
2017 Haunts, Duża Scena, Miejskie Galerie UAP, Poznań
2017 75 Works On Paper, BEERS London, Londyn
2017 No Budget Show 9: Ubytek-Upadek-Utrata, Dawny Szpital Psychiatryczny, Owińska
2017 The Next Day vol. 2, Assembly Gallery, Berlin
2016 The Next Day, Assembly Gallery, Poznań
2016 OSTRALE, error: X, 10. International Exhibition of Contemporary Arts, Drezno
2016 Temporary Autonomous Zone, MONA Inner Spaces, Poznań
2015 Fallout Skies / Bad Weather, MONA Inner Spaces, Poznań
2014 Nie-miejsce, Festiwal FAMA, Świnoujście. Płynność obrazu, GaleriaFF, Łódź
2014 Obrazy dla realnego świata, Ptapty, Poznań
2013 Rozpoznawania, Miejsce Sztuki44, Świnoujście. Kontakte, Villa Zanders, Bergisch Gladbach
2013 Obszary Rysunku, Galeria u Jezuitów, Poznań
2010 ShowOFF.Fototeka, Miesiąc Fotografii w Krakowie, Galeria Delikatesy, Kraków

Mateusz Piestrak