Blue Sky 20, 2022

Szymon Ćwikliński's series of miniature landscapes can be perceived as a set of painting preludes that touch on various motifs related to landscape. By painting on small formats, the artist creates an original notebook in which he captures fleeting moments, subjective experiences and ideas, perhaps to return to them someday. The young artist's works, created in acrylic and oil techniques, try to convey to the recipient a sense of unity with nature and even a kind of immersion in it. They are an attempt to show the beauty of the landscape in an extremely synthetic and creative way. In almost every work we notice the dominant sky above the low-set horizon. This perspective enhances the impression that landscapes, especially mountain ones, usually have on us. The light was presented using subtle, interpenetrating sets of warm and cold colors. And it is light and the ways of presenting it that seem to be the most important for the creator. The topic was subordinated to him. When asked about the idea behind the series, the author of the series replies: I tried to capture the amber shades of the air, airy colors, the phenomenon of dawn. And after a while he adds: I strive to paint an atmospheric impression, diffused light, smooth harmony and make it come true. The task undertaken by the painter seems almost impossible. It seems that the subjectivity of art overcomes various boundaries. We were also convinced of this by, among others, William Turner, whose work was always close to Szymon Ćwikliński.
The landscapes presented in the series breathe soft light, but are not monotonous, static visions of the landscape. They balance on the fine line between realistic associations and abstraction, but rarely cross it. They are often dynamic. Good energy emanates from them. They attract attention with their form and texture. Impasto brushstrokes bring out the textural details previously created by acrylic paints and turn some of them into landscape elements.