Second Life

Piotr Lutyński tends to involve animals in his work, and has in the past installed living goats, birds, horses and carp in galleries. He juxtaposes these creatures with unexpected elements such as music and food as well as the more traditional gallery fare of geometric paintings. His installation at Art in General includes live fish, a video projection of the glittering New York City skyline at night and a gilt mural reminiscent of medieval or early Renaissance painting. The opening of the exhibition will also be accompanied by a performance by Diana Dyjak Montes de Oca and a series of concerts given by the artist and other invited musicians.

Through his work—which intentionally incorporates an absurd yet evocative mélange of elements—Lutyński pays homage to Dadaism, in particular its practitioner Kurt Schwitters. He cites an epiphany several years ago that profoundly changed his practice: he was wading through grain one sunny day during harvest season in Germany while considering abstract painting, and the relationship between nature and culture presented itself as his muse. Since then, through the uncanny combination of unconventional components in his art, Lutyński has been exploring a litany of metaphysical questions: What exactly is perception? What constitutes the experience of art? What is the relationship between egg shells, grains, bees, beeswax and abstraction? What is the difference between an art gallery, a zoo and nature? And how is it that animals improve human observational faculties and cause people to focus, and as a result see more?

In conjunction with this residency, Art in General publishes a brochure with a text by Denise Markonish that can be downloaded here for free. For a printed version, purchase this and the entire set of Art in General’s residency brochures in the online store for only $5.

This residency and exhibition are part of Art in General’s Eastern European Residency Exchange (EERE) gives artists an opportunity to create a new work in a new context, and to meet and interact with art communities in Eastern Europe and New York City. Piotr Lutynski was nominated to the EERE by Bunkier Sztuki Gallery in Krakow, Poland.

Piotr Lutynski’s residency is made possible by the Trust for Mutual Understanding and the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional support has been provided by the Polish Cultural Institute.