A fascinating dialogue in abstraction

Two artists, separated by geography and time, begin a lively conversation about abstraction as a medium for exploring the complexities of space, color and perception, and inevitably history and politics. Beyond the line, at the Stefan Gierowski Foundation in Warsaw, Poland, unites the paintings and drawings of artists Stefan Gierowski and Sean Scully for what curator Joachim Pissarro describes as “chance conversations.” These are indeed staged exchanges, taking place across time and place. Together, these paintings are layered and open, rooted in the physical world and celebrating the vast possibilities of the imagination.

Gierowski, who died in 2022, is a critical figure in Polish modernism. His fascination was with light, optics and the metaphysical, his layered geometric shapes created with almost scientific precision. Gierowski’s works of art appear to be architectural compositions that instruct the viewer to interact with color as form and energy.

Meanwhile, born in Ireland in 1945, Scully works as an abstract painter and printmaker with bold stripes and vibrant blocks of color, often with themes exploring identity and perception. Whether working in New York, where he made his mark in the 1970s and 1980s, or in London, where he now lives, Scully has cultivated a distinctive style; his richly structured artworks express the potential of intuition.

Both artists share a profound commitment to abstraction, even as Gierowski’s compositions are meticulously crafted and Scully’s exude a sense of freedom and spontaneity, vibrant and alive with deep-seated energy. Set against the minimalist white walls of the Stefan Gierowski Foundation gallery, Scully’s monumental pieces are raw, expressive compositions with overlapping bands of color that capture the viewer’s attention. Gierowski’s work demands less of our energy, but lingers in the mind.

Gierowski was still alive when the first discussions began about a possible joint exhibition with Scully. “What struck me from the beginning is that both Gierowski and Scully, even though they had not met, use the same term in different ways: the term ‘resistance,’” says Pissarro – a word that formed the basis for his curators . direction for Beyond the line to be more episodes of conversations between the two artists rather than a chronological exhibition of works. For example, one room features unlikely figurative works by the two: Gierowski in his early career, Scully in his later artworks – the former’s early works can be read as studies for the latter’s. Elsewhere we encounter similar conversations across borders and time.

“In Polish history, the word ‘resistance’ is an important force – whether we are talking about the Warsaw resistance against the Nazi occupation or about the Soviet Union,” Pissarro continues. “History has not been kind to this country. History has also not been kind to Ireland, a country that has been under British rule for too long. Both have extremely painful memories of fighting different systems and different powers. It was about resistance.”

As a curator and scientist, Pissarro’s work often takes place at the intersection of art, culture and history. His own family story – his great-grandfather was the ‘grandfather of impressionism’ Camille Pissarro – is one of war and displacement. Here he also sees the weight of history and political context crucial to both Gierowski and Scully’s creations.

My trip to Warsaw coincided with the opening of the Polish capital’s first Museum of Modern Art – a groundbreaking project by American architect Thomas Phifer that speaks less about the building and more about the country’s forward-looking vision. Spending time in Warsaw is a sobering reminder of the power of history, of collective memories.

“I really believe that this concept of resistance has shaped these characters and made them who they are,” Pissarro says. “Through conversations with Gierowski’s son and granddaughter, Hubert and Natalia, who run the Stefan Gierowski Foundation, I learned that he was a tough person.”

He continues: “As a teenager, Gierowski joined the resistance during World War II, and was almost sent to a concentration camp by the Nazis during the German occupation. He lived a long time – he died at the age of 97 – and got to know Poland through its different histories. His family remembers how he always turned the conversation to the news and politics.”

When I spoke to Hubert previously, he told colorful stories of his grandmother hosting the Warsaw Resistance in their grand residence, only to be forgotten by the occupying Nazi forces, thanks to the building’s civic grandeur.

“Like I said, history hasn’t been kind to Ireland either,” says Pissarro. “Scully also had a tough upbringing, in his case as a poor child with a mother who had to sing in pubs to make ends meet. Scully, however, is a survivor: a tough guy. He is not an easy guy and says what he thinks,” says Pissarro with a smile. “It meant that he never gave in to trends and movements,” with the exhibition celebrating this so-called otherness that defines both artists.

Meanwhile the title Beyond the line is a nod to Scully’s ‘linescape’ – a pun on landscape and a concept he came up with to describe how his abstract work works, suggesting that a line can be more than a line. He has spoken of his paintings as an invitation to what he calls a “poetic space.”

Speaking about his most important abstract work on show in Warsaw, Scully says of me: “They never come to a resolution or conclusion, which is something very important in my work. The great poet Yeats spoke in his poetry about the ‘divided soul’. I also see this concept of the double soul in Gierowski’s work as a kind of restless fear – the fear of achieving some kind of perfection. I hate the idea of ​​perfection and purity – I really despise it because in my opinion it has a connection with fascism.”

I ask Pissarro how he sees these strong rebellious characters revealing themselves in their works of art. “There’s a paradox here,” he answers, before investigating further. “There is a vibrancy with both artists that almost seems contradictory to what I’m saying, and that comes when you’re in such a dark zone, as has been the case with both artists. Then you also see a glimmer of hope in both artists, a glimmer of hope, which is expressed in this cheerful, exuberant color scale. The two seem to be having a good time. Scully gets a lot of pleasure from painting and I assume Gierowski did too.”

Painting, Hubert remembers, was his father’s life. Towards the end of his life, although he could no longer see or paint, he went to his studio to feel the smell. There is a pleasant, almost sensual aspect to both of their works.

In 1945, in an interview with the French writer Simone Téry for Les Lettres FrançaisesPablo Picasso described the artist as a “political being, constantly alive to heart-rending, fiery or happy events to which he responds in every possible way.”

Pissarro believes that the artworks on display at the Stefan Gierowski Foundation reflect the moments in which the two artists created. “At the same time – perhaps the paradox or contradiction – their work allows them to escape the moment in which they exist. I would say it is a dialectical situation. This is the beauty of these works. We share this joy.”

‘Beyond the Line: From Finite to Infinity, from Physics to Metaphysics’ can be seen at Fundacja Stefana Gierowskiego until November 24, 2024.

Read more about “The call”, by artists and musicians Holly Herndon and Mat Dryhurst at Serpentine; see my interview with Hans Ulrich Obrist, creative director of Serpentine hereand read about it Personal structures in Venice and other art exhibition highlights here.