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Edward Dwurnik: Life as a multi-layered film
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฑ Poland /Culture & Society

Edward Dwurnik: Life as a multi-layered film

From Rzeczpospolita · () Polish

Translated from Polish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

In-depth Sources not specified Context piece
  • The exhibition "Duma i wstyd" (Pride and Shame) focuses on the early, less-known decades of Polish artist Edward Dwurnik's artistic development.
  • Dwurnik, who came from a challenging background, pursued painting against his family's expectations and rejected avant-garde trends in favor of accessible art.
  • The exhibition highlights his unique 1977 collaborative work "Paลบdziernik 77," one of the few pieces he created with other artists.

An exhibition titled "Duma i wstyd" (Pride and Shame) delves into the formative years of Edward Dwurnik, a prominent Polish artist, focusing on the initial, often overlooked, decades of his career. Curator ลukasz Ronduda highlights Dwurnik's journey from a difficult background to becoming a celebrated painter, emphasizing the period when he was developing his distinctive style.

Dwurnik was friends with them especially in the 70s, which was the subject of our conversation.

โ€” ลukasz RondudaDiscussing Dwurnik's relationship with the art duo KwieKulik.

Dwurnik's path was unconventional. He described himself as coming from "nowhere," originating from a community marked by violence and lacking any artistic tradition in his family. Despite these origins and an early expulsion from art high school for disciplinary issues, he was driven by a passion for painting and drawing, eventually becoming the first in his family to pursue higher education at the Academy of Fine Arts.

This painting is the only one that Dwurnik created together with someone else.

โ€” ลukasz RondudaDescribing the unique collaborative nature of 'Paลบdziernik 77'.

Interestingly, while at the academy, Dwurnik resisted the burgeoning avant-garde movement, which embraced new media and performance art. He remained committed to painting, a medium he felt would be understood by his parents and the broader public. He believed art should not become overly elitist but should remain accessible and expressive of society.

He was a boy 'from nowhere,' as he called himself, adding that he came from a "hooligan" community full of violence.

โ€” ลukasz RondudaExplaining Dwurnik's challenging background.

A significant piece featured in the exhibition is "Paลบdziernik 77." This large-scale canvas, created in 1977 for a competition commemorating the 60th anniversary of the October Revolution, was a rare collaborative effort involving Dwurnik and four other artists. Each artist painted their own self-portrait within the work, aiming for a cohesive whole. It stands as the only painting Dwurnik created with fellow artists, excluding works made with his young daughter.

He wanted to use a medium that would be understandable to his parents. And painting was considered art by them.

โ€” ลukasz RondudaExplaining Dwurnik's choice to stick with painting.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Rzeczpospolita in Polish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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