Patryk Różycki. Paint me in that job

Patryk Różycki
Paint Me in That Job
9.08–13.10.2024
Arsenal Gallery in Białystok

“Paint me in that job,” Patryk’s mother requested, reminiscing about her time in the 1970s as a waitress at the Zerwikaptur inn, once a prominent establishment on what is now Route 92. Patryk Różycki’s art captures his memories and those of his loved ones, rooted in a small village in Polish region of Wielkopolska (Greater Poland). His exhibitions form a biographical narrative that explores the artist’s origins and social mobility. Central to this exploration is grappling with the class shame that Różycki and his family members experience. By sharing their stories and his own, he creates a portrayal of a social class whose lives are rarely represented in contemporary public discourse.

The exhibition at the Arsenal Gallery in Białystok presents a segment of this ongoing project. The paintings depict the complex history of the Różycki family through their relationship with work. These narratives encompass the struggle for workers’ rights, the stigmatization of manual labor, unpaid internships, unemployment, labor migration, high labor costs, illness, life on a pension, death, illegal work, and the quest for dignity amidst humiliating poverty and powerlessness. In Różycki’s art, we encounter the often-untold stories of his family. Simultaneously, his work reflects various aspects of Poland’s recent social history, highlighting the costs of transformation and modernization. Following the opening of the A2 motorway, Zerwikaptur, located on the route between Koło and Konin, suffered the same fate as many local businesses—it closed, leaving many in the artist’s hometown unemployed. In one of his paintings, Różycki revisits the inn’s heyday, honoring his mother’s request and commemorating a time when she found joy in her work.

Patryk Różycki (born 1992) is a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk. He creates video works, paintings, and performances. He currently lives and works in Warsaw

>> EXHIBITION GUIDE [PDF] <<

Exhibition accompanying events

9.08.2024, at 6 p.m.
vernissage / In the programme: concert of the Królowczana Smuga project

10.08.2024, at 12:00 pm
Guided tour in Polish with the participation of artist Patryk Różycki and curator Katarzyna Różniak-Szabelska

21.08.2024, 17:00
AROUND RURAL PERSPECTIVES ON SOCIAL CHANGE
Guided tour in English with Hungarian curator and researcher Katalin Erdődi

31.08.2024, at 12 noon
Guided tour in Belarusian
with Alina Wawrzeniuk

7.09.2024, at 12 noon
AROUND LOCALITY
Guided tour of the exhibition with poet Joanna Łępicka, a native of Podlasie

21.09.2024, 12:00 pm
AROUND SOCIAL ADVANCEMENT
A guided tour of the exhibition with Magda Szcześniak – a researcher of visual culture, author of the book ‘Poruszeni. Awans i emocje w socjalistycznej Polsce’ (“Moved. Advancement and emotion in socialist Poland”).

28.09.2024, 12:00 pm
Guided tour in Ukrainian
with Yulia Kostereva

12.10.2024, 12:00 pm
Finissage performative guided tour by artist Patryk Różycki