Space XII b

Konrad Jarodzki (1927 to 2021) was a leading Polish painter, abstractionist and surrealist, a central figure in the Wrocław art scene and also an architect. He studied painting between 1949 and 1958 under Eugeniusz Geppert (1890 to 1979) at the State Higher School of Fine Arts in Wrocław, and architecture at Wrocław University of Science and Technology. He was one of the founding members of the Wrocław Group, alongside artists such as Józef Hałas (1927 to 2015), Jerzy Rosołowicz (1928 to 1982) and Janina Żamojtel (1931 to 2004), as well as other students and staff from PWSSP gathered around Geppert. In 1991 Jarodzki was appointed full professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław, and from 1987 to 1993 he served as its rector. He influenced generations of artists and was known for his open-minded approach to teaching – students were allowed to do anything, as long as they could justify it. His studio was the birthplace of the legendary Luxus group, led by his nephew Paweł. In 1986, Jarodzki founded the architecture firm Archicom, which played a major role in shaping contemporary Wrocław after the political transformation of 1989 to 1990. He held dozens of solo exhibitions and took part in numerous group shows in Poland and abroad, and was the author of many award-winning architectural projects. The work *Space XII b* from 1971 is part of a series in which the artist explores abstract painting and seeks to mislead the viewer’s perception by constructing a refined visual structure with an organic quality. Speaking about his paintings, he said: “Space is the subject of my painting. By creating the most suggestive illusion possible, I want to express that untruth which is the transformation of a wall into an open window. The disappearance of the painting as an object and its elevation to the status of a trigger for emotional experience. Enabling the viewer to forget the real situation – viewer, space, painting – and believe in a new one: viewer, space, space.” Marlena Chybowska-Butler