All created over the course of the past year, Kowalski's works present a hallucinatory vision much like that of the protagonist of Roman Polanski's The Tenant. His subjects delve into the uncomfortable realms of illness, cleanliness, theatre and its relation to real life. His particular approach to the objects he depicts sets them in an uncanny, unsettling guise. His view of reality is full of fear and conspiracy.
Tomasz Kowalski is a painter who takes on the traditions of German Expressionism and geometric abstract art, Adaism and Surrealism , bringing these into a more extensive narrative inspired by the works of Thomas Pynchon and Bruno Schulz, with a contemporary approach that incorporates graphic design, illustration and street art. He was born in 1984 in Szczebrzeszyn. Today he lives and works in Krakow and Szczebrzeszyn.
Kowalski's works have been exhibited in solo shows at Centre for Contempory Art Ujazdowskie Castle, Warsaw, in 2011; Kunstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, in 2009 and also in group shows at Kunsthalle Wien; de Appel, Amsterdam; MUMOK - Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig, Vienna; S.M.A.K. Ghent, Belgium; De Garage, Mechelen, Belgium; Center for Contemporary Art, Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw; Centre Pompidou, Paris; Hartware MedienKunstVerein, Dortmund, Germany; and Ursula Blickle Foundation, Kraichtal-Unterowisheim, Germany. Tomasz Kowalski's work is included in important public collections such as Centre Pompidou, Paris; MUMOK – Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig, Vienna; Frac des Pays de la Loire, Nantes, France; MOCAK, Museum of Contemporary Art, Krakow.
Routine Investigation is on at the Tim Van Laere Gallery between the 25th of October - 1st of December 2012. For more information, see: www.timvanlaeregallery.com
Tim Van Laere Gallery
Verlatstraat 23-25
2000 Antwerp, Belgium
Editor: Agnieszka Le Nart
Source: Press release
Thumbnail credit: Tomasz Kowalski, "Crossword, 2012", crayon, gouache, ink, pencil on paper.