Statement
Born 1981 in Poland, Andrzej Rafalowicz works in various fields of art such as painting, video art, printmaking. The main medium that he works with is painting, an art form he finds equally intellectual and aesthetic. From among many sources of inspiration for his art he points to Byzantine and Russian icons, Cubism and Pop Art as the most influential for his creative practice.
One of the most common subjects of Rafalowicz 's work include ordinary items cut out from their original contexts and transposed into symbolic space through painterly means . This is an idea taken from the Byzantine sacred painting, based on Plato's philosophy; the picture becomes a window into a different, mysterious reality, ruled by unrecognised rules, yet somehow possible to recognize on the level of intuition. To emphasize the symbolic nature of the depicted items, Rafalowicz often use numbers and letters which exist in his paintings on the same metaphorical level. The figures are completely accidental, or rather, the artist chooses them based on intuition. Each of the subjects, even though inspired by experiences of his private environment, become here a certain idea. The way of treating the painted subjects in a few cases evolve into almost complete abstract representation, with only slight allusion to the reality.
The other strong source of Rafalowicz 's inspiration is a language of visual communication: warning signs, information signs etc. He will often experiment with diverse materials – for example, a series of collages using empty drug packets. Here, it was the medium - a common waste, that first gave the context for the series, placing it strictly in a kind of post Pop-art arena. This series is an ironic comment on the certain issues of the global hyper-consumerist culture; a culture which creates an illusion of happiness, within arms reach, but instead abuses the ways of improving the quality of our lives, leading itself to slow self-destruction. He has used similar ideas in other works, creating series of paintings with more obvious Pop-art and Dadaist references.
CV
EDUCATION
1996-2001 Artur Grottger High School of Arts and Crafts (Panstwowe Liceum Sztuk Plastycznych im. Artura Grottgera) in Suprasl, Poland
2003-2008 Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Fine Arts (Akademia Sztuk Pieknych im. Eugeniusza Gepperta) in Wroclaw, Poland (Painting)
Currently works as a Teaching Assistant at Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Fine Arts in Wroclaw (from October 2008)
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2008 Malarstwo dolnoslasko – podlaskie (“The Painting of Lower Silesia and Podlachia”), Galeria na Solnym, Wroclaw, Poland
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2010 "WRO-POZ, POZ-WRO - Wroclaw nie do Poznania", Slodownia, Stary Browar, Poznan, Poland
2010 "Hallo Wroclaw 2016", Zgorzelec and Goerlitz, Poland/Germany
2009 "Abel+4", Muzeum Ziemi Klodzkiej, Klodzko, Poland
2009 The One Minutes Train (as part of "Rietveld Arsenale" exhibition) during the 53. Venice Biennale, Arsenale Novissimo in Venice, Italy
2009 "Schätze aus Breslau", Kleine Haus der Kunst in Buttenheim, Germany
2009 "Dziewczynki sa madre a ladny chlopiec jest chopcem, jest chlopcem..." ("Girls Are Smart but the Pretty Boy Is a Boy, Is a Boy, Is a Boy..."), BWA Studio Gallery, Wroclaw, Poland
2008 World One Minutes Exhibition at Today Art Museum, Beijing, China (the exhibition was included in the cultural program around the Olympic Games 2008)
2008 Samsung Art Master” exhibition associated with charity auction for raising funds for Anna Dymna's foundation "Mimo wszystko", Old Orangery in Royal Baths Park (Lazienki Krolewskie) in Warsaw, Poland
2008 Graduation exhibition, “BWA Awangarda” Gallery, Wroclaw, Poland
2000 After-Contest “The 6th Takasaki Art & Music Competition for High School Students '99” at Takasaki Art Center College - Takasaki, Japan
