Tomek Baran
BIO
Tomek Baran is a painter and an object and installation artist tied to Krakow. He took his diploma from the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow, in the Faculty of Painting. He comes from Stalowa Wola, a steelworking town, whose industrial architecture had an influence on his work. In his minimalist artistic practice he enjoys experimenting with the medium of painting. He uses various materials: sculpted or constructed looms, industrial paints, various enamels and varnishes. His works have been presented at many exhibitions in Poland and abroad. He is represented by Warsaw’s Le Guern gallery.
Artwork
#e3a1b8, varnish, spray paint with bronze filings on canvas, 2019
Tomek Baran likes to call himself an “abstract hooligan.” His paintings play with art history tradition, above all the avant-garde and geometrical abstract art. Baran takes the discussion about colors, light, contrasts, and composition to a new level. On the one hand, he treats his works like real objects, often making reference to everyday materiality. On the other hand, his works’ titles prompt associations with pop culture, digital culture, and virtual reality. The numbers are computer color codes that the artist generates with a graphics program after reproducing a given picture. The title, #e3a1b8, points to the pink color, while the theme of the composition itself is the gradient, which the artist interprets as a symbolic transition or path.
#TYXIE, acrylic, enamel on canvas on wooden looms, 2019
The abstract painting #TYXIE has a heavy dose of irony and wit. It transfers the colors from a popular beer can to the painted canvas, which is additionally shaped and bent in the artist’s customary fashion.
