The „Nonpresence” exhibition presented the works by Beata Stankiewicz, Krzysztof Rzeźniczek and Wojciech Woźniak. The link between them is to look at different areas of human presence in the context of human absence. Abandoned residential interiors, decaying public buildings, a desolate cityscape – they create spaces of absence and at the same time a peculiarly accentuated, timeless presence.
Beata Stankiewicz in her series of paintings (Puste pokoje, (Empty Rooms) Dom Pracy Twórczej, (House of Creative Work), Miejsce pracy (Workplace), Common life) does not usually go beyond the views of the unoccupied rooms she portrays. This reality of absence, on the one hand, seems to intimidate, but on the other, it is an inspiration to discover the traces of presence fixed in them. The artist sees them in the free play of sunlight, penetrating the tulle curtains, reflecting in the polished floor or resting on the walls, “remembering” the shapes of old furniture and paintings.
The painterly plots of Krzysztof Rzeźniczek’s paintings take place in a completely different environment. In his most recent works, one usually sees a desolate, nocturnal view of a small town, with elements of road infrastructure, an island with a single tree, a lighting pole. Occasionally they feature a lone figure or a car standing at the side of the road. In the harsh, artificial light, ordinary surroundings and the situations and objects that occur in them, even random situations and objects, create a mysterious atmosphere resounding with surreal anxiety.
Wojciech Woźniak’s works, on the other hand, are a sentimental wandering through the nooks and crannies of memory associated with his own past. From the dark background of the analogue photographs, childhood play areas, places of leisure and work emerge. Devoid of human presence and set in a home town setting, the photographs in the Sentymenty (Sentiments) and Obecność (Presence) series speak more powerfully than depictions of crowded city streets. The Duży pokój (Big Room) series is a reflection on the progressive paradigm shift and the social behaviour patterns.
Danuta Pałys

Beata Stankiewicz – graduated with honours from the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków in 1998 with a degree in painting and wall painting in the studio of prof. Józef Lucjan Ząbkowski.
In 2005, inspired by Zbigniew Warpechowski, she and Sebastian Stankiewicz set up the “mieszkanie23” Gallery in their own flat. By 2012, the Gallery had produced around 40 exhibitions, performances and lectures.
She has been a member of the Otwarta Pracownia Art Association since 2017.
The artist lives and works in Kraków. Her paintings are on deposit at Galeria Zderzak in Kraków and Art Station in Zürich, Polish and foreign private collections, the collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Kraków MOCAK and the collection of the Gallery of Contemporary Art “Bunkier Sztuki” in Kraków.

Krzysztof Rzeźniczek – a painter born in Mikołów. He is a graduate of the Secondary School of Fine Arts in Katowice and the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice, which he completed with a master’s degree in the Painting Studio of Prof. Kazimierz Cieślik and an annex in the Drawing Studio of Prof. Antoni Cygan. He currently works at his alma mater as an assistant professor in the Painting Technology Studio of Dr Agnieszka Trzos. In 1999, he received a scholarship from the Ministry of Culture and the Arts. In 2006, he was awarded a distinction at the 21st Festival of Contemporary Painting in Szczecin and the Grand Prix in the competition held by the Franciszka Eibisch Foundation in Warsaw. In 2015, he was awarded a doctorate of arts in painting. He lives and works in Mikołów.

Wojciech Woźniak – was born on May 5th, 1964 in Bydgoszcz. Photographer and musician. Graduate in cultural studies at the Faculty of Humanities, Kazimierz Wielki University. He is a member of the Union of Polish Art Photographers. Since 1996, the photographer in the Leon Wyczółkowski District Museum in Bydgoszcz. In 1995-2005 he co-organised the Review of Bydgoszcz Photography (BWA, Bydgoszcz). In 2019, he documented Marina Abramović’s stay at the CSW in Toruń and the exhibition ‘The Cleaner’. Author of several solo exhibitions, including “Outside-Inside” (Rother’s Mills, Mill Island, Bydgoszcz, 2006) and a participant in several group exhibitions in the country and abroad. Significant cycles of works: “Krótka opowieść o miłości i tęsknocie” (A Short Story about Love and Longing) (2001); “Ogrody wyobraźni” (Gardens of Imagination) (2004); “Droga” (Road) (1997-2005); “Pamiątki” (Keepsakes) (2005), “Przybysz” (Stranger) (2010); “Sentymenty” (Sentiments) (2013); “Duży pokój” (Big Room) (2013); “Obecność” (Presence) (2014); “Codzienne rytuały” (Everyday Rituals) (2015); “Still lifes”(2015), “Portret miasta” (Portrait of a City) (2022). In his career spanning more than thirty years, he has been the author of photographs for dozens of album, scientific catalogue and biographical publications in the fields of archaeology, ancient and contemporary art, sculpture, history, numismatics and architecture. Co-founder and bassist of bands: Variete and The Cyclists.

curator – Danuta Pałys
Start 06.06.2023, 6pm
Gdańska 20
End 30.07.2023