Relentless Discovery

Zdzisław Stanek (1925–1996) a painter and sculptor, one of the founders of the Katowice avant-garde group St-53 in the 1950s, was considered one of the most interesting artists, ceaselessly experimenting and never yielding to any fashion or trend. Fascinated with the figure of Władysław Strzemiński and his theory of art, he tried to continue his explorations, constantly discovering new aspects of light in the painting.His hard early years – the World War II, the underground, a labour camp, then a Stalinist prison – did not augur Stanek’s amazing career. Yet, they provided him with an amazing inner strength, necessary in an avant-garde artist, as well as with the ability to strive for his goals despite the circumstances, without conforming to, among others, the requirements of the market or to any temporary success.

"The most gifted among the youngest artists of Stalinogród was doubtlessly Zdzisław Stanek, a talent swiftly developing. His beautiful still life entitled „Bottles and Light” is already an achievement. In the painting, the principle is consistently implemented of merging the shapes disrupted by the light, colliding with one another and then – in the sight of our wandering eye – reunited in a rhythm different from the previous one. There is a permeating and flowing motion in the image, as well as the complementation of the form. Stanek owed much to the purist experiments, but he did not limit himself to just these. I foresee a bright future awaiting this talent." Julian Przyboś, 1956

In the series „Lightsmelters” the artist explored the light and its surprising harmonies in the Silesian industrial landscape.

"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.

In the 1950s to 1980s, Stanek was one of the most interesting and outstanding artists of Silesian and Polish Neo avant-garde, gaining recognition not only in the country, but also abroad. He was a professor of the Faculty of Art of the Polish University Abroad, a member or the Roman Accademia Internazionale d’Arte Moderna, Accademia Italia delle Arti e dell Lavoro and IAA AIAP UNESCO, as well as a laureate of numerous prestigious awards. Among others, he received a silver medal and the title of Artifex Doctus IPKART for lifetime achievement (1978), a gold medal of the International Painting Competition Italia 2000 (1979), gold medal Il Trofeo Internazionale Medusa Aurea (1980) and a gold badge of ZPAP (Association of Polish Artists and Designers) (1996).

75 works by Zdzisław Stanek of the years 1952–1980 have been gathered in the collection of the Museum of Katowice History. They are also to be found in the National Museum in Warsaw, Poznań, Szczecin and Wrocław, the Silesian Museum in Katowice, Museum in Bielsko-Biała, Bytom, Chorzów, Lublin, Słupsk, Tarnów, Toruń, BWA (Artistic Exhibitions Bureau) Contemporary Art Gallery in Katowice, Zachęta National Gallery of Art in Warsaw, Museum of Modern Art in Stockholm and in many private collections in Poland and abroad.