Lightnude II

His last works are a consistent continuation of the first attempts. Changes taking place in them result from the artist’s development and his pursuit of new means of expression. Though, unfortunately, the above may sound cliché, in Stanek’s case it describes a genuine phenomenon. Initially, he tried to solve the problem of the play of light and shadow on the two-dimensional surface of the canvas. However, illusionist rendering of the three-dimensional nature did not satisfy his creative ambition. He then began a series of paintings with distinct, almost relief-like texture, moving towards releasing the third dimension from the canvas surface in his final works, resulting in the image ceasing to be a painting, while still not becoming a sculpture yet. Thus, it turned into something entirely new and autonomous. Wojciech Sztaba 1970