“The moment when the unreal turns into visible is exciting”

Luiza Poreda, 29 April 2021

“Art that does not refer to human experience in the world, this energy that we call existence, the human condition, does not interest me very much“, says Tomasz Tobolewski, whose one of the paintings will be available for auction in May during the 51st Auction of New Art at Art in House.

 

 

Painting presented at the 51. Auction of New Art at Art in House Auction House is entitled “Overdue Vacation” and belongs to the series “Heads”, which has been created intermittently for several years.

– I remember that in some overheard conversation someone complained that she had to choose an overdue vacation. Then I thought it was a good title for a painting I was finishing at that time. This is how a lying head with a cup was created, the blue of the sky and the sun around the heart – says Tomasz Tobolewski.

 

 

Tomasz Tobolewski is an artist born in 1973 in Zabrze. He is a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow (Faculty of Graphics in Katowice), and obtained a diploma at the Intaglio Printing Studio of prof. S. Kluski. He is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Silesia, he also lectures at the Department of Graphics at the University of Ostrava.

Tobolewski is the laureate of awards, including: Grand Prix at the Dry Point Graphic Biennale in Serbia (2011), Grand Prix at the ZPAP’s “Work of the Year” competition (Katowice, 2004), and the 1st prize of the International Drawing Biennale (Pilzno, 2004). He is also a participant of many exhibitions, including: POSK Gallary in London in 2018, Polish Print Triennial, BWA Katowice (2012), Salon de L’estampe Contemporaine – Ruel-Malmaison, France (2006), drawing exhibition “First Language” (Bielsko-Biała, 2003), exhibitions of young employees of the Art Institute (Cieszyn, 2003), the Work of the Year competition of the Association of Polish Artists and Designers (Katowice, 2003 and 2004), Biennale of Graphic Miniature (Częstochowa, 2004), Drawing them. Andorli (Nałęczów, 2004), Internationale Mini Print (Sarajevo, 2005).

From idealism to a dreamlike journey

As Tomasz Tobolewski says, in the past he presented much more an idealistic approach to art, full of questions about truth and meaning.

– Today what I am doing I would call a dreamlike journey. Painting is one of the means by which consciousness communicates with the world, it is a tool of this communication, a subjective view of reality. Can such a view be an interpretation of anything? Explain some truth? The tool may be imperfect, but in the hands of a conscious artist it can move us, provoke us to think, make us become better people, even become a pretext to change our views – says the artist.

“It is crucial to IMPRESS something”

The artist goes on to say: – Some of my paintings are close to illustrations, an anecdote from which, paradoxically, I always wanted to escape, because in my understanding of painting, IMPRESSION of something is decisive. Picture in imagination, for example, transience, love, sadness, thought, even a smell.

As he says, each artist smuggles a part of himself in his works, this trace of the painter’s presence, the testimony of experiences.

– But the exciting moment is when the unreal turns into the visible. Anyway, what gives the feeling of greater freedom, if not painting and the asylum of the studio? It’s a blessing these days. Maybe I belong to that group of artists who – like the protagonist of Fellini’s film – are looking for the perfect work and still err, but do not try to delay work. I do not throw myself off the responsibility for the creative creation. The painting is me, something like “Mrs. Bovary is me” – explains the painter and says how important it is for him to leave room for interpretation to the recipients of art.

– Tell a picture, explain it – but what for? Leaving space for interpretation – it’s more intriguing. Besides, I find my paintings often irritatingly literal! – says the artist.

The intensity of the first contact

As Tomasz Tobolewski says, a picture should convey the appropriate intensity of the message.

– Someone called it the intensity of first contact. The point is to arouse curiosity and make them stop, so that the viewer’s perception looks for something more than just focusing on his matter, biting into meanings, into the psychology of the image (if there is such a thing, because nothing by force). The recipient is presented in front of the painting as a witness to a story. I admit that there are paintings that keep me with them, I spend a long time in front of them, they don’t want to let me go. This is an irrational force. Apparently, Szymborska cried in front of one of Vermeer’s paintings, returning to it whenever there was an opportunity. An image that makes you so emotional! Does beauty still touch us? – Tobolewski wonders.

Where is the artist looking for inspiration? As Tomasz Tobolewski says, he likes to have a dialogue with “old masters”, involving a contemporary narrative in it.

– The nature of the painting then becomes timeless, I transfer the themes directly from iconic works, set them in a new context, in a space that I do not fully know myself in the process of working on the canvas. It comes with time, sometimes the canvas takes control over me, the picture paints itself (banality). It happens! Usually, however, the image matures, we give each other time, some situations have to “digest” themselves. Anyway, a studio is not a bakery, and paintings are not a tape product, otherwise a pathological situation is created, the artist notes.

About humility in creating

– Painter Jacek Sienicki once confessed: “One has to paint one canvas and the next and the next … to get some solutions that El Greco achieved by painting a piece of the sleeve.” The humility that echoes in the master’s words is worth imitating – says Tobolewski.

 

“We are losing the spirit of community”

What is the situation of the artist and the student’s artistic development in the eyes of the lecturer Tomasz Tobolewski?

– To say that this development is a bit more difficult is to say nothing. This situation is not comfortable for any of the parties (student – master). The pandemic ruled out closeness, directness and contact. We are losing the spirit of community. In addition, the restrictions closed access to artistic workshops: graphic, sculptural and painting. Not everyone has the conditions for creative work at home. The area of conceptual art has remained, but for some students it is a real challenge – says Tomasz Tobolewski, noting at the same time that the time of closing allows one to reflect on oneself and the world at the same time.

 

– The point is, with all this complicated reality, you can’t stop thinking. It is important for the student to ask himself questions and set goals that are worth achieving. The simplest questions, and therefore essential: what for? For what purpose? What I want to say? What do I expect from art? What is art for me? What does it mean for me to be an artist? Building awareness is perhaps the most important thing. But first that awareness of oneself, of oneself as a person, has to come. Students must understand that you need to invest in yourself. It is very important – concludes the artist.

 

Visit the gallery of Tomasz Tobolewski’s paintings at Art in House.