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Leszek Lewandowski’s adoption of abstraction as a language of expression did not result from his conviction that imagery has come to an end or that the realistic or figurative formulas have been exhausted. His interest in abstraction was rooted in a fascination with perceptual distortions and the relative nature of the perception of reality. Lewandowski repeatedly recalled a situation from his childhood when, sick and feverish, he experienced hallucinations. This seemingly trivial memory left him with a conviction that sensory cognition is fallible, and oriented him towards exploring the limitations of perception. Thus, he invariably creates art with the assumption that sight cannot be trusted.

Before he began creating installations based on spinning spirals, Venetian mirrors and light bulbs, Lewandowski worked in a more traditional medium. He used to paint images that distinctively relied on the relationship between the texture of the surface and the light falling on it. Two works from Collection II belong to this group. A large rectangular canvas and a much smaller block of wood primed in white are densely covered with dashes and flecks applied in black paint. Sensations experienced while perceiving them can be likened to having dark spots floating before one’s eyes, or to looking at a vibrantly alive anthill. Another image that automatically comes to mind is “snowing”, the black-and-white noise on a TV screen that accompanies signal interference.

The painting on wood looks like a section of the one on canvas, only reduced in size and rotated by 180 degrees. Both are bisected by a wavy line which divides them into unequal parts. The works are exhibited side by side, so that the lines are at a similar level. This imparts a sense of continuity, and when we gaze intently at the surface of the works, a trembling white line seems to appear on the wall, too, in the gap between the two works.

Making use of relatively uncomplicated means, Lewandowski plays with the viewers of his works, leads them astray and forces them to reflect on the relationship between themselves and the perceived world. It can be assumed that he leaves the viewers with a belief in the illusory and subjective nature of vision, a disorientation in space and an uncertainty as to the status of perceived situations and things.

Izabela Kopania
translated from Polish by Klaudyna Michałowicz