The exhibition Beyond the Line: Stefan Gierowski i Sean Scully at the Stefan Gierowski Foundation in Warsaw, presents for the first time a comparison between two renowned artists from the late twentieth-century abstract art scene: the Polish artist Stefan Gierowski (1925-2022) and the Irish artist Sean Scully (1945), who never met in life. French curator Joachim Pissarro proposes a parallelism that extends far beyond the mere comparison of styles and the similar use of lines, as suggested by the title itself, identifying a common phenomenon of “resistance” as a pivotal point of connect between the two artists’ biographies.
Installation view of “Beyond the Line”, featuring works by Stefan Gierowski and Sean Scully. Photo by Adam Gut, 2024, courtesy Fundacja Stefana Gierowskiego, Varsavia
Stefan Gierowski was a symbol of defiance against the propagandistic realism imposed by the communist regime. Starting with a figurative style as a field for exploring color and spatial harmony, he gradually turned to abstraction, establishing himself as a model of artistic freedom, a form of both cultural and political resistance. Sean Scully, on the other hand, was born and raised on the streets, first in Dublin and then in London, which led to an early development of strong independence and self-awareness that would later manifest in his abstract painting, almost immune to changing trends (despite a period of Minimal Art influence).
Stefan Gierowski, “Regaty”, 1948, tempera on plywood, 29 x 39 cm. Photo by Adam Gut, courtesy Fundacja Stefana Gierowskiego, Varsavia
Both artists thus seem to share an attitude of “resistance”- one against the USSR, the other against the USA. For each, the influence of European art is fundamental, providing the roots of their practices: Post-Impressionism, as well as the avant-garde movements and abstraction from the 1920s and 1930s. However, even from these influences, we can discern obvious differences in their approach to abstraction and in the painterly rendering of their works, highlighted by the Neo-Impressionist influence of Seurat, evident in Gierowski’s early figurative works, particularly Regaty (1948), and, albeit more distantly, in Scully’s recent figurative reference in the triptych Eleuthera Triptych (2018). Regaty takes shape as a study in pointillism, an analysis of color and its composition within two-dimensional space, while Eleuthera Triptych approaches Seurat not so much in technical principles, but in thematic similarity and in the sensations evoked by the solitary figures in Bathers at Asnières, powerfully echoed in the figure on the right of the triptych.
Sean Scully, “Eleuthera Triptych”, 2018, oil and oil pastel on aluminium, 101 ,6 x 88,9 cm. Installation view of “Beyond the Line”, featuring works by Stefan Gierowski and Sean Scully, courtesy Fundacja Stefana Gierowskiego, Varsavia
From this initial comparison, we notice a substantial difference in their artistic approach that simplifies the understanding of the entire exhibition. Gierowski contemplates composition and pictorial space, rigorously studying light, lines, and colors. His references include Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist studies of light and color as well as Cézanne’s forms and Cubists like Léger, along with the spatial dynamics of the Futurists and the structured abstractionism of figures like Josef Albers, Johannes Itten, Moholy-Nagy and Barnett Newman. Yet, he also draws from Matisse’s work, which he encountered during his travels to Paris in the early 1960s. This figurative womb also serves as inspiration for the Irish artist Sean Scully, who is influenced by the Fauves (particularly Matisse and Derain) as well as by the expressionism of Kirchner and the emotional force of Van Gogh, whom he admires for his spiritual humanity.
Installation view of “Beyond the Line”, featuring works by Stefan Gierowski and Sean Scully. Photo by Adam Gut, 2024, courtesy Fundacja Stefana Gierowskiego, Varsavia
Scully absorbs from these artists the character of their brushstrokes and colors, showing a clear interest in the emerging expressionism of their works. In the late 1960s, Scully traveled first to Paris – where he discovered Morellet, Vasarely and Soto – then to Morocco, where he was struck by the spiritual intensity of Islamic art, especially the composition of textiles. In a trajectory similar to Paul Klee’s, the Irish artist developed a layering of lines upon lines, reminiscent of Mondrian’s grids. However, this did not dampen his temperament; Scully creates closed yet powerfully lyrical and expressive compositions. Even the influence of Minimal Art did not bring him to the level of restraint shown by Gierowski. Scully indeed develops works characterized by geometry, yet this geometry is imperfect, and despite the monochromatic quality of many of his works, both recent and earlier, his powerful emotionality persists – though veiled, it is both present and absent.
Installation view of “Beyond the Line”, featuring works by Stefan Gierowski and Sean Scully. Photo by Adam Gut, 2024, courtesy Fundacja Stefana Gierowskiego, Varsavia
Walking through the spaces of the Foundation, we find ourselves immersed in a territory filled with colors and lines. At first glance, the works of the two artists seem to blend together, pulling each other into a unique aesthetic. There is a strong similarity, but on closer inspection, the distance between Gierowski’s luminous, fine and rigorous brushstrokes and Scully’s soft, dense, layered strokes is immediately apparent. Gierowski seeks a calculated clarity in the relationship between light, color and pictorial space, while Scully pursues a character-driven expression that can also be described as romantic. In a sense, Gierowski “removes” his hand, meditating on space and reducing physical presence and emotion, while Scully perseveres in gestural layering, a practice akin to Tai Chi, where the repetition of brushstroke upon brushstroke reveals an artist’s state of mind or an experience felt by the artist and only partially accessible to the viewer.
Info:
Beyond the Line: Stefan Gierowski & Sean Scully
14/09/2024 – 24/11/2024
Fundacja Stefana Gierowskiego
www.fundacjagierowskiego.pl
Matteo Giovanelli (Brescia, 1999) is an art historian and young curator. After getting two degrees in Cultural Heritage and Art History at the University of Verona, he developed a dynamic professional profile. He has collaborated with contemporary art galleries, assisting in the curation of exhibitions and participating in prestigious exhibition projects and international fairs. He writes art reviews and criticisms, contributing to offering a critical and in-depth look at the contemporary art scene.
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