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Obraz pionowy I is one of Jerzy Rosołowicz's characteristic textural works, which he created between 1957 and 1966 using oil paint mixed with plaster and papier-mache. In the painting, he modelled rhythmical wholes made up of forms resembling fragments of nature seen under a microscope, such as dew drops. These monochromatic compositions, sparse in form, evolved from organic relief structures towards geometry, eventually giving way to a conceptual search for universal forms of expression.From the early 1960s Rosołowicz's work developed in parallel with theoretical reflection, which resulted in three complementary dissertations: Teoria funkcji formy (1962), O działaniu neutralnym (1967), Próba odpowiedzi na pytanie, co to jest świadome działanie neutralne (1971). These deliberations were the direct result of the artist's concern about the fate of the world and the self-destructive direction of the development of civilisations, primarily concerning the degradation of the environment and the threat of nuclear conflict. In the late 1960s, he gave up on painting in favour of the utopian idea of ‘fighting evil’ with ‘conscious neutral actions’, which were pointless, and thus ethical. He believed that art should be the tool to fix the world. He designed and constructed absurd devices and machines whose task was to inspire such actions, such as Naczynie do łapania rosy and the Telehydrografiki series. At the same time, he created spatial objects and double-sided reliefs from optical glass. He was also involved in experimental photography and film. He was an active participant in the Wrocław avant-garde artist milieu. He was a co-founder of the Galeria Pod Moną Lisą (1967-1971) founded by the conceptual art theoretician Jerzy Ludwiński. In 1972 he joined the Net project, which saw artists from all over the world writing letters in order to talk about art.

Marlena Chybowska-Butler