The exhibition is a record of my experience as well as the experience of the people around me. I do not aspire to represent society as a whole: I only focus on what I know and find familiar. I take a closer look at how we try to understand ourselves and our emotions, how we strive to find out what drives us, how we keep discovering the layers of what happens to us and how we respond to that, how we pose questions about where the truth about ourselves begins and which parts of us are acquired patterns, imposed by our families and social norms. The exhibition is also about our search for intimacy and closeness – even though in the world dominated by technologies, we are not quite good at navigating true relationships. I show how we combine dreams and the unreal world of our smartphones and tablets with the harsh reality. What I find interesting is how we attempt to find ourselves in all that, not shying away from calling things by their name; how we refuse to be ashamed of being depressed, broken, or transformed, or of what’s inside our heads, because we know that true self-knowledge and sensitivity allow us to experience life fully.
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BIO / ZBIOK Czajkowski
Painter, muralist, illustrator. Born in 1982 in Zielona Gora. Studied graphic design at the Institute of Fine Arts and art education at the Institute of Art and Plastic Culture at the University of Zielona Gora – he received his diploma in painting in 2006 in the studio of Prof. Ryszard Wozniak.
Czajkowski practices two genres of painting – traditional easel painting and large-format painting in public space. Zbiok operates with a distinctive painting style that draws from street aesthetics, the painting of masters from the early 20th century, and popular culture. In his work he combines work with subconsciousness and observation of the surrounding world. The themes of Zbiok’s works deal with issues of social inequality, violence, discrimination and alienation of the individual. Rather, the visions he creates refer viewers to the realms of dreams, dreams, desires, subconscious fears and anxieties.
Zbiok has participated in more than 100 exhibitions and projects presented in Poland, Germany, Russia, the US, Japan, India, China and the UK, among others. In 2008-2014, together with Joanna Stembalska, on behalf of BWA Wroclaw, they created the Out of Sth outdoor art biennial.
Since 2019, he has been teaching art in public space at the Institute of Visual Arts at the University of Zielona Gora. In 2010, he won the Grand Prix in the Geppert Young Painting Competition organized by the Academy of Fine Arts in Wroclaw. Czajkowski is the winner of the Worth art contest organized by Gazeta Wyborcza. In 2011, he was awarded a scholarship by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage. In 2019 he won the first prize for best artwork in the Cover Awarts competition (for the album King, Intemperance).
He currently lives and works in Warsaw.
www.instagram.com/zbiok
Title: How Do You Feel?
Artist: Zbiok Czajkowski
Opening: 19.11.2022, 4 pm – 7 pm
Exhibition: 19.11.2022–14.01.2023
Opening hours: Tue – Sat, 1 pm – 6 pm
Address: Galeria SZARA, Bracka 23/28, WARSZAWA