Andrzej Jackowski: A Space in the Dark
April 17 – May 30, 2008
David Krut Projects is pleased to announce A Space in the Dark, an exhibition of new paintings and drawings by Andrzej Jackowski, on view from April 17 to May 30, 2008. The show will feature six oil paintings and six charcoal drawings, all completed this year. An opening reception will be held on April 17, from 6 to 8 pm.
Sparely wrought and dark, Jackowski’s images evoke intimate childhood dreamscapes, populated by watchful women, lurking animals and unexpected items (such as a recurring hairbrush) that, like dreams, at once invite and defy interpretation. The works are simple and small, often having a sense of containment, even deep sadness. Dark shades of purple, red and gray dominate, with occasional flashes of brightness on the tongue of a fox or a woman’s blouse. Undefined buildings loom on horizons low on the page, suggesting a child’s visual perspective.
Born in Wales in 1947, to parents who were Polish refugees, Jackowski spent the first eleven years of his life in a refugee camp near Liverpool. The show’s title, A Space in the Dark, comes from a poem of the same name written by the artist, and reprinted in the exhibition catalogue. The poem connects this past to his artistic practice, and in it he writes “I have made the world small portable and embraced / I have made a space in the dark quiet corner of my mind.”
The compositions create similar spaces for the viewer: dark and quiet, reminiscent of deep, hidden reverie, or retreat into memory. Some images–a toy train, the hairbrush–reappear in unexpected places, like faintly recognizable symbols in memories or dreams. Animals, too, feature strongly in the works, appearing placid and watchful.
Jackowski was made Professor of Painting at the University of Brighton, England in 2002. His work had been shown extensively across Europe, drawing numerous honors and awards. His work appears in the collections of the British Museum, the European Parliament in Luxembourg, and the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, among many others.
Andrzej Jackowski is represented by Purdy Hicks Gallery, London. For more information, please email [email protected].