"Always Look on the Left Side of Life" or Ciecierski and Matecki in duet

The composition from the series "Always Look at the Left Side of Life" by Tomasz Ciecierski and Przemek Matecki, presented as part of the "Post-War and Contemporary Art" auction, is a very interesting example of an artistic collaboration. The work shows us how much can be brought to our polarized world when people find common ground. This is exactly what fascinates us in the series by Tomasz Ciecierski and Przemek Matecki - a joint artistic effort that not only connects two unique characters but also constitutes an intergenerational dialogue. The artists managed to see eye to eye – both in terms of their art and worldviews. 

As painters say, the series "Always Look at the Left Side of Life" is a travesty of Monty Python's song "Always Look at the Bright Side of Life". Fifteen works were created as part of the series. They call up social and political associations not only with their eponymous allusion. The references burst through the very composition, which plays a certain kind of a game with the recipient. The paintings from the series were made with the use of primary colors. In some parts of the composition, they take the form of the national flag and in the others, they refer to the map of Poland or Polish coat of arms. The attention of the viewers is also drawn to a human silhouette which is always turned to the left. All of the above symbols were mixed together, forming a new language inside the works that consists of pictograms, forms, and planes, reminiscent of Dadaism.

The form of work perfectly reflects its content. Diptych does not constitute two separate works but one compositional whole, which is metaphorically connected by a horizontal element – a bridge that connects the work on the conceptual and formal levels. Ciecierski and Matecki found out how to harmoniously combine the languages of artistic expression characteristic of them. Dialogue with other artists is de facto the artistic program of Matecki. At the same time, Ciecierski was fascinated by the very essence of painting from the beginning of his career. That is why his oeuvre is full of multiplied, superimposed, characteristic small paintings. Marta Ryczkowska aptly described it:

"The collaboration of two artists on a single canvas, in a single painting series, resulted in a startling consistency. The styles of the artists are unique. Each of them included an idiom characteristic of himself in the painting series, but the authorship is secondary here. The paintings are the fruit of the joint work of the duo, they represent Ciecierski's multilayered compositions of overlapping canvases and Matecki's cemetery of unwanted things. The similar deconstructive perspectives of both artists produced synergy visible on the paintings, that is predilection for patchworks, assemblages, reliefs, passion for collecting, losing oneself in accruing and hunting. They are paintings about painting, about how we look at them and reproduce them."