Anya Tish Gallery presents Pawel Dutkiewicz

Anya Tish Gallery opens Concerto in E Minor, the fifth Houston solo exhibition by the esteemed Polish abstract painter, Paweł Dutkiewicz. In his recent work the artist employs his signature muted palette and geometric composition in order to draw comparisons between the mechanics of musical arrangements and his own process of abstract painting. Meditative, moving, and emblematic, this body of work occupies the same space as the effortlessly complex compositions of Fryderyk Chopin. 

Pawel Dutkiewicz’s recent paintings were created while listening to Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11 (1830) by Polish composer, Fryderyk Chopin. The titles of the pieces correspond to the tempo of three movements of the first Chopin concerto, reflecting the nature of the work – “allegro maestoso” (joyfully and majestically), “larghetto” (slow pace), “rondo vivace” (a bustling roundabout). Still donning a muted color palette, this new series of paintings reflects an atmosphere of movement and harmonious sound. While Chopin serves as an external inspiration for the paintings and influences the composition of geometric shapes on the canvas, Dutkiewicz’s understated approach to painting continues to point to the internal and results in a ruminative experience, encouraging viewer introspection.

From the Artist: 

 “When painting, color must be considered a very precise tool, similar to a classical musical instrument, as complicated to use as an organ or piano. The content of a painting is conveyed through the color choices, i.e., through the juxtaposition of colors and the relationship between colors, just as in a piece of music, where abstract, individual sounds, and even the silence between them, together create the content of the piece.” – Paweł Dutkiewicz, 2021 

See Also

Art Update Houston: October 5, 2018

About the Artist: 

Based in Kraków, Poland, Paweł Dutkiewicz is a professor of Art at the University of Science and Art in Katowice, Poland. His work has been shown in several important institutions, among them: Zacheta National Art Gallery, Warsaw, Poland; Galeria Foksal, Warsaw, Poland; The Schindler Factory, Krakow, Poland; Galeria Krzysztofory (established by Tadeusz Kantor in 1957), Krakow, Poland; Lichtblicke Institute of Polish Culture in Berlin, Germany; and Baltic Gallery of Contemporary Art, Slupsk, Poland. Dutkiewicz is a grant recipient of the Polish Ministry of Art and Culture, and his work can be found in numerous corporate and private collections across Europe and the United States.