Friends from the Seaside vol. 2

The second part of the Friends from the Seaside exhibition mostly consists of works from a brief plein-air that took place in the first week of August 2015. The meeting of the Friends took place in the margin of the cultural changes and institutional reorganisations of the Gdańsk City Gallery. The beginning of August was also when the long-standing mentor of the Friends, Prof. Witosław Czerwonka passed away. Therefore a sense of dolefulness and emptiness filled the plein-air and the in-between space was heavy with endless talk and recollections of the student years. Simultaneously, Poland entered into a dispute over the allocation of the immigrants steadily flooding into the EU from Syria and North Africa. Greece was also at the centre of attention, with a subsequent bailout from the EU targeted at Grexit avoidance. Lastly, a new Polish President, who embodies political change in the country, was sworn in. So, last August was not only a time of tropical heat, summertime leisure and light-hearted ambience. Quite the contrary.

As the years went by, relationships among the Friends have undergone certain changes and have crumbled slightly. The plein-air was more than just another form of collective socializing, it proved instead that the Friends do not distance themselves from an outer world or confront only within the inner circle of their artistic attitudes. Few of them kept on painting and drawing; conversations were unfolding at the Motława riverside, there was a shared breakfast, and a few gigs by the Nagrobki group (Adam Witkowski+ Maciej Salamon). A number of spouses, children and dogs turned up as well.

In the end, two different exhibitions are on display in two different galleries. The show at the GGM2 in Powroźnicza Street displays a brief poetic narration about summertime, leisure and the inner and outer landscape. It also abounds with traveller’s notes and escapes from the daily routine. Thus the display attempts to look away from the current economic or geopolitical problems. The display at the GGM1 in Piwna Street, on the other hand, rings with definitely critical tones and directly addresses political and economic strategies together with their ruthlessness and consistency.

Once again, the Friends from the Seaside exhibition is composed of diversified elements, personalities and artistic merits, which often resist clear-cut definition and parallels. And even if the artists get together just for a moment and on an irregular basis, the group’s implicit definition lingers in its simplicity, openness and casual nature.