Tomasz Kręcicki Tissue 2, 2023

Scale and the body are major motifs in the paintings of Tomasz Kręcicki. Grotesquely enlarged fingers, for example, are frequently engaged in various activities, such as applying gelatinous substances from unmarked tubes or, as in this work, removing a tissue from its box. Through their large scale, the paintings often contain an absurdist element but their formal reliance on simplified and sometimes repeating shapes also evoke the artist’s continued exploration of the abstract in figuration.

Rendered with extreme detail and precision, Kręcicki’s carefully crafted compositions invite us to consider essentially ordinary subject matter with heightened attention. In his paintings, commonly used objects such as the one presented here, become invested with a sense of monumentality, and foreground the painter’s skillful command over his chosen medium. Yet, a surrealist unreality also imbues Kręcicki’s depictions of common activities and everyday objects, recalling a Lynchian atmosphere but often cut with a dash of the campy spookiness of B-movie horror.