Jan BERDYSZAK, BASIC RELATIONSHIP, 1972

Own technique, cardboard; 87 x 57 cm
Signed l.d.: Basic Relation 11/15 auto-engraving; p.d.: JAN | BER | DYSZ | AK | 1972
State of preservation: creases
Provenance: collection of Mateusz Grabowski (Gallery London)
Asking price 2400
Estimate 8000 - 10000
◙ droit de suite

Jan BERDYSZAK
1934 Zawory - 2014 Poznan
Studied sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznan in 1952-58, at the same time making independent attempts at painting and printmaking. From an early period, his work focused on issues of space. In the series "Double Circles (1962-64 and 1967-69), he broke the convention of the painterly rectangle. The paintings consisted of two circles, juxtaposed vertically one above the other, covered with moved, contrasting forms that created internal space within the composition. The next stage of exploration was the introduction of real space into the painting in the form of a hole cut in the canvas. Since 1967, the space interfering with the matter of the painting gained "liberation through the fact of dividing the painting into separate parts, which were exhibited in different juxtapositions. While Berdyszak's painting and spatial experiments have so far been accompanied by printmaking, at this point painting met sculpture. From the late 1960s Berdyszak's painting surfaces became flat, the forms sharply defined. The artist attempted to transpose into visual language concepts of openness, infinity, potentiality, etc., rooted in Eastern philosophical thought. Since 1965, he taught at his alma mater (since 1996 the Academy of Fine Arts). From the beginning, he practiced theatrical stage design in parallel with his mainstream work.