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Portraits
Abstract art was born out of the night. A spark that set off the artistic revolution was the play between darkness and light that occurs after dusk. “By using the word 'nocturne' I wished to indicate an artistic interest alone, divesting the picture of any outside anecdotal interest (…) A nocturne is an arrangement of line, form and colour first” – these words of James McNeill Whistler from his famous court battle against John Ruskin are widely considered the first conceptualization of non-representational art. His night landscape of a park lit by fireworks was debased by the popular Victorian critic as “a pot of paint flinged in the public’s face”. For him the alleged accidental character of the brushstrokes made it nothing more than a stain, a wasted art supply. The American painter fiercely opposed this view in the courtroom, presenting his artistic method as parallel to that of a composer meticulously orchestrating the subtleties of tone.
As a conceptual painter inspecting inner workings of his medium, Bujnowski loves posing old questions and finding new answers. He has had a soft spot for both Whistler (Whistler’s Mother painting, 2002) and the ‘nocturne’ genre he named and championed for quite a while. His Dusk. Video painting (2004) series, in which he paints over landscapes transforming them into monochromatic abstractions, can be seen as a simple Whistlerian lecture on how every evening the figurative order of things melts into the air. The tension between figuration and abstraction is always present in his works, with special attention focused on the role the different sources of light play in the process. In Landscapes (2010), Nocturne – Graboszyce (2012), and the more recent American Night (2022) series, he explores how real and fake (cinematic) moonlight can operate within the picture. In Arsonists (2013) he draws austere human silhouettes illuminated by fire with a single line of chalk on a blackboard. Finally, in the Standby Computer (2021) and Portraits (2019) he arrives at the source of artificial light emblematic of our century – the screen of mobile devices.
Yet, unlike his American predecessor, Bujnowski embraces randomness and materiality, making them the guiding principles of his art. Portraits are a perfect example of how the theme derives from the matter. In the series of intimate works painted with thick, spatial impasto strokes, he follows the qualities of the tools: a broad brush and his favorite lamp black paint, as well as the way they interact with external sources of light in the exhibition space. The visual associations emerge in the process – both on the side of the artist and the viewer. Seeing female heads in the light of a smartphone screen in these elegant abstract forms can be associated with the trait of the human brain, known as pareidolia. It makes people look for representation even in random abstract forms like clouds or stains. And when we are in the darkness, our vision does exactly the same – struggles to recognize familiar objects to make us feel safe. Thus, the only difference between Victorian and contemporary nighthawks might be the easiness of the switch between two modes of perception, with a cold light of a phone always at hand.
Zofia Czartoryska
Biography
born 1974 in Wadowice, Poland, lives and works in Warsaw
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2023
PARA / STEAM. Róza Litwa / Rafał Bujnowski, Dzielna Foundation, Warsaw
Portraits, Georg Kargl BOX, Vienna
2022
Lamp Black Love Story, Foxy Productions, New York
Dom w budowie, Fundacja Dzielna, Warsaw
2021
Current Works, Georg Kargl Fine Arts, Vienna
2019
Rafał Bujnowski, Foxy Production, New York City
Art and Hygiene, Galeria DAP, Warsaw
2016
Man On Tree, Galeria Raster, Warsaw
May 2066, Zachęta - National Gallery of Art, Warsaw
Cukrovarnická 39, Open Studio, SVIT Praha, Prague
SVIT, Prague
2014
Dusk, Arsenał Gallery, Białystok
2013
Arsonists, Galeria Raster, Warsaw
2011
Panorama, Galeria BWA, Zielona, Góra
Corner, Johnen Galerie, Berlin
2010
OczodoŁy (Sockets), Galeria Raster, Warsaw
2008
85%, Galeria Raster, Warsaw
IBID PROJECTS, London
2007
Lamp Black, Jiri Svestka Gallery, Prague
Johnen & Schöttle, Cologne
2006
Norwich Gallery, Norwich
2005
embroider - Rafał Bujnowski, Johnen Galerie, Berlin
malen/painting/malowanie, Kunstverein Düsseldorf, Dusseldorf
Last Saved, Arndt & Partner, Zurich
2004
Visa, Raster, Warsaw
Paintings and Furnitures, Polish Cultural Institute, Paris
Art in General, New York
2003
Rafał Bujnowski, Jozef Robakowski, Galerie Ruediger Schoettle, Munich
New and recent (with Marcin Maciejowski), IBID PROJECTS, London
Paintings.Objects, Galerie Johnen+Schoettle, Cologne
2002
120 objects, 150 paintings, Raster, Warsaw
Graboszyce, Kont Gallery, Lublin
2001
Painting, Renovation, Centre for Contemporary Art Innerspaces Multimedia, Poznań
Window, AMS Outdoor Gallery (400 billboards around Poland)
A very pretty gallery, Kronika Gallery, Bytom
2000
Kiosk, Galeria 1/2, Academy of Fine Arts, Katowice
Consumer products and equipment, Goethe Institut, Kraków
Consumer products and equipment, Bagatt Showroom, Warsaw, Białystok
Pictures, Zderzak Gallery, Kraków
VHS 180min, Potocka Gallery, Kraków
Cheap art from Poland - Export, Window Galleries – Central Saint Martins, London
1999
Grafika gratis, Kola Gallery, Institute of Art History Jagiellonian University, Kraków
1998
Anka, Galeria Otwarta Pracownia, Kraków
Tabliczki, Klub Pod Ręką, Kraków
Selected Group Exhibitions
2025
Self-Portraits, National Museum Warsaw, Warsaw
2023
Video Store, Foxy Production, New York
Painting - Art's Golden Medium: MOCAK Collection, MOCAK, Krakow
2022
Tectonic Movements. On the Artistic Symptoms of the Transition, Museum Sztuki, Lodz
Little Precious Things, Georg Kargl BOX, Vienna
2021
The Passion, Hall Art Foundation, Schloss Derneburg, Holle-Der
Arts Feeds on Art, MOCAK, Krakow
The Artist Is Present, MOCAK, Krakow
Architectur as Symbol, Text and Backdrop, MOCAK, Krakow
2020
Fear, Galeria Arsenal, Białystok
Cherries, Galeria Arsenal, Bialystok
Contemporary models of realism (MOCAK Collection), Museum of Contemporary Art in Kraków (MOCAK), Kraków
The Pope, Museum of Contemporary Art in Kraków (MOCAK), Kraków
Theft And Destruction, Arsenal Gallery, Białystok
Figura, Foxy Production, New York
2019
Polish artists in the Bunkier Sztuki Collection, Bunkier Sztuki, Kraków
Rafał Bujnowski, Peter Puklus, Zofia Rydet: 1000 Hands, Galeria Raster, Warsaw
Rafał Bujnowski, Michelle Rawlings: Formy, as spart of Hikarie Contemporary Art Eye Series in Shibuya Hikarie Creative Space, Tokyo
1000 Hands, Galeria Raster, Warsaw
2018
Thinking. Ahead, Galerie Erna Hecey, Luxembourg
Hommage, Arsenal Gallery, Białystok
Motherland in Art, Museum of Contemporary Art in Kraków (MOCAK), Krakow
Condo New York, Foxy Production, New York
2017
Economize! On the Relationship of Art and Economy, Ludwig Museum - Museum of Contemporary Art Budapest, Budapest
140 Beats per Minute, Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, Warsaw
Co z tą abstrakcją?, Stefan Gierowski Foundation, Warsaw
Art in Art, Museum of Contemporary Art in Kraków (MOCAK), Kraków
If I were the moon, Galeria Raster, Warsaw
2016
L’arte differente: MOCAK al MAXXI, MAXXI - Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo, Rome
Szalona Galeria, Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, Warsaw
Home At Last: The Polish House During The Transition, 8th Edition Of The Warsaw Under Construction Festival, Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, Warsaw
It’s getting better and even better? the presentation of Kolekcja II, Gallery Arsenal, Bialystok
Bittersüße Zeiten – Barock und Gegenwart, Edwin Scharff Museum, Neu-Ulm
2015
Tower, IBID PROJECTS, London
Mere Formality, Galeria Labirynt, Lublin
Black & White – Multifarious, Galerie Leu, Munich
State of Life. Polish Contemporary Art within a Global Circumstance, National Art Museum of China – NAMOC, Beijing
Bittersüße Zeiten - Barock und Gegenwart in der Sammlung SØR Rusche Berlin/Oelde, Kunsthalle Jesuitenkirche, Aschaffenburg
Art In Music - Werke aus der ACT Art Collection, Weserburg | Museum für moderne Kunst, Bremen
Mixed Bag, Galerie Bugdahn und Kaimer, Dusseldorf
Projekt Metropolis, CCA Kronika, Bytom (Poland)
Procedures for the head. Polish Art Today, Dom umenia/Kunsthalle Bratislava, Bratislava
Schneesalon, Georg Kargl Fine Arts & Georg Kargl BOX, Vienna
Bittersüße Zeiten - Barock und Gegenwart in der Sammlung SØR Rusche Berlin/Oelde, Kunsthaus Apolda Avantgarde, Apolda
2014
A Place Where We Could Go, NoPlace, Oslo
Progress And Hygiene, Zacheta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw
Bittersüsse Zeiten - Barock Und Gegenwart In Der Sammlung Sør Rusche Oelde/ Berlin, Kunsthaus Stade, Stade
Around Bauhaus, Arsenal Gallery, Białystok
Crime in Art, Museum of Contemporary Art in Kraków (MOCAK), Kraków
As You Can See. Polish Art Today, Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, Warsaw
In The Near Future, Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, Warsaw
The Drunkard's Dog, Gdańska Galeria Miejska, Gdansk
Popes, Museum of Contemporary Art in Kraków (MOCAK), Kraków
2013
Economics in Art, Museum of Contemporary Art in Kraków (MOCAK), Kraków
In The Heart Of The Country - The Collection Of The Museum Of Modern Art In Warsaw, Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, Warsaw
It isn't important, it's only art, Arsenal Gallery, Białystok
Today’s Art Makes Tomorrow’s Poland, Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, Warsaw
2012
A WINDOW ON THE WORLD, from Dürer to Mondrian and beyond, Museo Cantonale d'Arte, Lugano
SØR Rusche Sammlung: Eros & Thanatos, Werkschau, Leipzig
Sedimente, Kerstin Engholm Galerie, Vienna
Sammlung Marx - Eine Auswahl, Muzeum Narodowe w Szczecin, Szczecin
2011
Conscious consents, Arsenal Gallery, Białystok
Hirschfaktor - Die Kunst des Zitierens, ZKM | Zentrum für Kunst und Medien, Karlsruhe
POLISH!, Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin
Die Sammlung Marx - Eine Auswahl, Atlas Sztuki, Łódź
Michał Budny / Rafał Bujnowski, Neuer Kunstverein Wien, Vienna
Workers Leaving the Workplace, ms2 – Muzeum Sztuki w Łódź, Łódź
On the Threshold, Jiri Svestka Berlin, Berlin
2010
Ostatni Film, Galeria Raster, Warsaw
6 Exhibition Collection, BWA Contemporary Art Gallery, Katowice
something else..., Galerie Ardizón, Bregenz
Public Private Paintings, Mu.ZEE, Oostende
Public Private Paintings. 2000-2010: 10 jaar schilderkunst uit publieke en privécollecties in Vlaanderen en Brussel, Mu.ZEE, Oostende
Transylwania, Galeria BWA Zielona Góra, Zielona Góra
Nothing important, is just art, Brukenthal National Museum, Sibiu
Monumenty W PodrÓŻy, Galeria Raster, Warsaw
RAFAŁ BUJNOWSKI / RAY BARTKUS, GALERIJA VARTAI, Vilnius
Over and Over Again, Wyspa Institute of Art, Gdansk
Painting, Process and Expansion, Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig (MUMOK), Vienna
Workers Leaving the Workplace, ms2 - Muzeum Sztuki w Łódź, Łódź
Things evoke feelings, Ujazdowski Castle – Centre for Contemporary Art, Warsaw
Do It Like That, Galeria Stereo, Poznań
Unmistakable Sentences - The Collection Revisited, Ludwig Museum - Museum of Contemporary Art – Budapest, Budapest
Wenn die Nacht am tiefsten, Kunstsalon Bel Etage, Berlin
2009
3xYES, Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw
Contemporary Czech and International Gallery Artists, Jiri Svestka Prague, Prague
Szczyt bohaterów, Bunkier Sztuki, Kraków
Artists of Conflicting Tales: Subjectivity (Quadrilogy, Part 1), Burger Collection, Berlin
Prespress, Ritter/Zamet, London
Freedom from Profit, Galeria Zacheta - National Gallery of Art, Warsaw
Take a Look at Me Now, Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, Norwich
Over and Over Again, 1989-2009, Centennial Hall, Wrocław
Double Hemisphere, Foxy Production, New York City, NY
New Acquisitions, Rarely Seen Works, Ludwig Museum - Museum of Contemporary Art - Budapest
2008
Financial crisis ...from our stock, Jiri Svestka Prague, Prague
Grupy Ladnie, Galerie Ardizon, Bregenz
Red Eye Effect-Polish Photography of the 21st Century, CSW Centrum Sztuki Wspolczesnej / Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw
Krzywe kolo, Galeria Raster, Warsaw
PRUESSPRESS, Rental Gallery, New York City, NY
Motivation - Work – Implement, Jiri Svestka Prague, Prague
Kolekcja Bunkra Sztuki, Stary Browar, Poznań
What kind of painting?, Sprüth Magers Projekte, Munich
P2P, Casino Luxembourg - Forum d'art contemporain, Luxemburg
Carte Blanche: Freundliche Feinde, Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst - GfZK, Leipzig
2041, Artnews Projects, Berlin
Carte Blanche I: alpha 2000 Kunstpreis Europas Zukunft, Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst - GfZK, Leipzig
Back to Black, Schwarz in der aktuellen Malerei, Kestner Gesellschaft, Hannover
Crooked Circle, Galeria Raster, Warsaw
2007
RASTER HAIRCUT, RENTAL Gallery, New York
STILL - another exhibition of painting, Futura - centre for contemporary art, Prague
Asteism - Joke and autority, Program Gallery, Warsaw
Concrete Legacy. From Le Corbusier To The Homeboys, The Ujazdowski Castle – Centre for
Contemporary Art, Warsaw
Several Dozen Seconds Of a Badly Developed Film, Galeria Raster, Warsaw
White Out, Künstlerhaus Palais Thurn und Taxis, Bregenz
2006
Polish Painting of the 21st Century, Zacheta - National Gallery of Art, Warsaw
RISS/LÜCKE/SCHARNIER, Galerie nächst St. Stephan - Rosemarie Schwarzwälder, Vienna
Rafał Bujnowski - Stefan Rinck, Galerie Rüdiger Schöttle, Munich
Bunkier Sztuki Collection, Bunkier Sztuki, Kraków
2005
Under White-Red Flag. New Art from Poland, National Center For Contemporary Art (NCCA) - Moscow Branch, Moscow
Urbane Malerei, Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst - GfZK, Leipzig
Boys, Boys, Boys, Bunkier Sztuki, Krakow
2004
Concernés, La Maison Folie de Wazemmes, Lille; Bunkier Sztuki, Kraków
Hot Destination - Marginal Destiny, House of Art, Brno
At Home, The Letterkenny Art Centre, Letterkenny
Leichte Arbeit, Kulturbrauerei, Berlin
Malerei, Galerie Rüdiger Schöttle, Munich
Pluzzle, Galerie griedervonputtkamer, Berlin
Under The Red & White Flag, New Art from Poland, Contemporary Art Centre, Vilnius
Under The Red & White Flag, New Art from Poland, Estonian Art Museum, Tallin
Tirol Transfer, Austrian Cultural Forum, Warsaw
2003
Prague Biennial, The National Gallery, Prague
RASTER. Aktuelle Kunst aus Polen, Museum Junge Kunst, Frankfurt/Oder
Malerei, Galerie Johnen + Schöttle, Cologne
Art of the 3rd RP, Polish Sculpture Centre, Oronsko
Ogonblickets Anatomie (Anatomy of moments), Grafikens Hus, Mariefred
2002
Art on the road, AMS Outdoor Gallery, Kraków
Junge Kunst aus Polen, Galerie der Marktgemeinde St. Johann, St. Johann
Projekt Karlsplatz, Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna
2001
4th Polish Young Artists Show, Awangarda Gallery – BWA Wrocław, Wrocław
The famous Ładnie Group, Sektor I Gallery, GCK, Katowice
1st friday of the month (Ładnie Group), Manhattan Gallery, Łódź
Popelita, Bunkier Sztuki, Kraków
On the outside, Laznia - Centre for Contemporary Art, Gdansk
Good, Galeria Raster, Warsaw
Fish eye, Baltic Gallery for Contemporary Art, Slupsk/Ustka
Relax, Arsenal Gallery, Białystok
2000
Paint me, Art Exhibition Hall, Zielona Góra
A dream of a provincial girl, Sopot
Assembly kit, Polish Sculpture Centre, Oronsko
Trafik.Kunst, Polnisches Institut, Vienna
Ladnie Group in D'Arcy, D'Arcy Agency, Warsaw
Scene 2000, The Ujazdowski Castle - Centre for Contemporary Art, Warsaw
Postpoetry, Otwarta Pracownia Gallery, Kraków
1999
Oikos, Leon Wyczólkowski Museum, Bydgoszcz
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