Wonderland of Tomasz Sętowski
Nicole Lewandowska
Referring to the imagination, working with strange and not obvious things, which are never what they seem at first glance, are just some of the aspects unique to the style that Tomasz Sętowski takes a particular liking to. For years, this artist has successfully made use of artistic currents such as magical realism and broadly understood surrealism. He continued to be devoted to them while also rising to the position of their principal representative.
Tomasz Sętowski is a respected artist from Częstochowa, who has been successful on the international art scene. His exceptional imagination and excellent artistic abilities are his most distinguishable qualities. Not only is Częstochowa the artist's birthplace, but it is also the setting in which Stowski is most fond of creating his fairytale paintings, which enthrall the audience. It is safe to say that he is a multi-talented artist who uses a wide range of mediums, successfully implementing magical realism in his watercolor works, sculpture, and graphic design in addition to painting. Moreover, he is now acknowledged as one of this style's most outstanding representatives and one of its most well-known artists.
Tomasz Sętowski takes the audience of his works into the remote world of mysterious visions and fairy tales, where reality blends with the fiction and metaphysics of other worlds. These extraordinary paintings transform reality into an oneiric tale. According to how the artist describes his creative process, he explores the realm of his fantasies in search of "treasures," which he then employs to create intricate and large-format compositions in the form of oil paintings on canvas. Sętowski finds stimulus in everything around him, but his vivid imagination serves as his greatest source of inspiration. The mind is "a kind of dream factory which turns on during the creative process" for the artist. Sętowski's journey within himself is reflected in the paintings that come to life under the author's brush. They give him a sense of detachment from everyday life. The creator developed his own, unique style during his many journeys-both artistic and spiritual. He claims that he finds it easier to create than to later part with his works. Being aware of the transient nature of owning an artwork only while it is being created and later parting with it is a strong experience for the artist, but he also acknowledges that "this is the fate of the painting, to travel and change the owner."
The paintings invite you to explore an unusual world. You can tell that the artist loves to play with the beauty of architecture and urban planning. The paintings' symbolism presents a fascinating interpretive challenge to art enthusiasts. The viewer can independently find the meanings hidden in the intricate, colorful works based on their own emotions, life, and experiences.
You can follow this versatile Polish artist's achievements over a long period of time. The paintings of Tomek Sętowski were on display at a great number of solo exhibitions across Poland and abroad. His works are also in significant private and museum collections. Among other places, you can find them at the National Maritime Museum in Gdańsk, the Fantastic Art Museum-Museum of Art in Switzerland, or the "Museum of Imagination," the artist's first gallery in his hometown of Częstochowa. The specially designed interiors of the Museum of Imagination, where Sętowski's paintings and installations decorate the entire space, can make visiting a truly unique experience of entering the world of his paintings. The galleries are filled with a diverse collection of props and depictions. As we learn from the artist, his intention was to make the viewer feel like the hero of his paintings. Thanks to the body of work in the fields of painting, sculpture, and drawing, Sętowski was able to implement his visions there in a comprehensive manner. The museum also serves as the artist's studio, an asylum, and a paradise where he may work away from the pressures and cares of the modern world and find inspiration for further creative processes in his art.
