Henryk Musiałowicz. Art that Shocks and Brings Hope.

"Musiałowicz's art has always been devoid of literality, oscillating between primeval drawings, icons, and contemporary abstraction. In the earlier period, the whole truth about humans, sought and expressed by this art, seemed to be closer to ordinaryness, to be more disturbing and marked by a tragedy. Gradually, with a higher degree of decorativeness, dematerialization of images and an elegiac tone, its relationship with reality has become increasingly metaphorical and elusive. It is as if the artist is becoming more and more certain that human's destiny is not only suffering, but also relief and rebirth, and that art is not only supposed to shock, warn, to be a protest and an outcry, it perhaps also aims to, above all, redeem evil and bring hope."

Renata Rogozińska 

Musiałowicz was an outsider artist. It is difficult to label his works as one specific movement. He was a searching artist whose aim was to create art that makes us reflect and contemplate. At the upcoming auction, we present you with two masterpieces – a work on paper from the "Seabed" series and a painting from the "Family" series. Both works will be available for purchase at our May auction. 

In his paintings and sculptures, Henryk Musiałowicz tells a story about the tragic condition of contemporary man. His works constitute treatises on the fragility of life, which is threatened by suffering, loneliness, and longing. For the painter, the main source of inspiration was nature. The painting from the "Seabed" series, which is very rare on the auction market, testifies to this predilection. The artist's drawing reflects the unique biological world of nature. The black and white composition presents sparks of golden and blue, which give the work an intriguing character. For the artist, nature was a source of constant fascination. He saw great value in the surrounding world and nature. Since the 1980s, he more and more often returned to Cieńcza, a small town located in the Kurpie region, where he had his studio. Musiałowicz would stay there and work in the summer months. As his daughter Jolanta Musiałowicz recalls, the artist started his day from leaving home, sometimes heading to the field, sometimes to the garden. In turn, the artist finished his work day on the porch, where he would watch the sunset. He admired the spectacle of nature, striving to depict its majesty in his art.

Our auction "Post-War and Contemporary Art", which takes place on 26 May, presents you with a painting from the "Family" series. The artist described his works from the series as "a combination of problems and matters of people equally sensitized to internal conflicts and threats coming from outside" (Henryk Musiałowicz, Moja droga, teksty Renata Rogozińska, Henryk Musiałowicz, Legnica 1999, n.p.) The ambiguous outline of the silhouette depicts a figure that is more humanoid than human. The motionless representation gives the expression a rough character. The figure is embedded in a dark, ornate scenery, which combines simplicity with wealth and harshness with opulence. The decorative background refers to early Christian art, which favored ornaments and decorativeness. The colors are limited to sparks of black, red, and gold. Choosing this color range allowed the artist for a dynamical extraction of the silhouette from the blackness in the painting. The colors bring to mind a Byzantine mosaic, and their application corresponds to the representations of fire, light, and holiness. The symbols, medallions, and symmetrical concentration points were inspired by icons or feretories.