"Mastactwa"("The Art") appeared in august 2006 and it concerned the exhibition "Bukowitz" in the Museum of Contemporary Art in Mińsk; mgr Edward Gałustow was a probation officer of that exhibition.

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Article, part 1
Article, part 2

Łukasz from Bukowiec

The individual exhibition of Polish graphic artist Łukasz Lewandowski, which took place in the Museum of Contemporary Art in Mińsk, was accepted by Belorussian audience with sympathy and a great liking. That acceptance was reciprocated by the author, because the artist coming from the neughbouring country remarkably high assessed the level of professionalism in art, the Belorussian music, its performers and many other people and things which he encountered at the time. The mutual sympathy and liking ensures that it will be a need for further cooperatioin and meetings.

Łukasz Lewandowski is a young Polish artist, a graduate from the National Secondary School of Arts in Bydgoszcz (an equivalent of Belorussian "Parnat") and the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk; he began to exhibit his works during his education in Secondary School, which gave him the possibility to participate in many projects. He made friends with Belorussian artists (though their mediation the excibition took place in the Museum of Contemporary Art) during the artistic confrontations. The negotiations connected with the exhibition in Mińsk were held from Haga, where the artist stayed at that time.

In the contest of Polish contemporary art, the artistic activity of Łukasz Lewandowski is quite surprising phenomenon, as it inscribes in a classical tradition, of which it becomes a continuation. At present, we cannot define that trend, as "popular" in Polish art. Within the graduates of the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk, known for its formalistic search, that is rare,unprecedenced artistic rule. All the same, we can conclude that in the creative activity of Łukasz Lewandowski the innovation is connected with the conservatism. Conservatism- the technological traditions with a long grey beard, and radicalism- expressed in the atmosphere of works and the outlook of the author.
Regardless of the typically Polish character of exposed works (and undoubted lack of similarities to the graphical Belorussian school), that artistic activity is comprehensible and close to our audience.

The Łukasz's works who has the good use of different graphic techniques, exhibited in Mińsk (he acquianted with the technical graphics during his education in National Secondary School of Arts in Bydgoszcz) were composed with colorful linocuts. The Łukasz's works, made in this relatively young technique, have their own peculiarities. He uses only one matrix to prepare a form for each colour (after finishing the work it is impossible to remake the whole process). As a result of using the methode, the works are produced in a little print. This aprroach gives also an interesting colour effect, and the esthetics of work of art becomes to balance towards a linocut and a "sieve-print" with a major advantage of the second one.

Łukasz entitled his first Belorussian exhibition "Bukowitz", what derives from the name of a village, where he was brought up. Despite his natural and sincere love to his little homeland, the artist is truly interested in it, what looks like a conscious cultural dispute: he is trying to confer the sense of space, or the Universe to that little piece of Poland. To feel, to understand, to create, as a sensitive, hardly perceptible matter, which we are trying to define as a spirituality, or an atmosphere of a place, which is the result of many generations' work. These tryings to give a sense of real creation to the most sensitive of his feelings (what is opposite to "an urban nostalgy"), after the loss of the youthful village, are hardly present in our art. It is not the educated, courteous nostalgia over something lost, but rather the search for present, the balance in his attitude towards the world, as without it the being of a sensitive person is impossible. Łukasz does not hide the aim of his seekings, but he does not try to decorate it with pathetics, or romantic flowers. He probably looks both on himself, and on his surroundings, with an essential irony and a harsh humour.

Superficially, that artistic thinking has a taste of miracle: in his works all the proportions are upset, there is no gravity, and the main one, all the time, is a bit cunning author's look, glittering nearby.
A big pink pig is flying on the night sky like a baloon ("Zeppelin"), a butterfly has suddenly overgrown a building ("A moth") and ordinary scaffoldings have transformed the usual, common church tower into a piece of art of China architecture ("Wadowice- Pekin").
Almost every work of art, exhibited in Mińsk, was inspired by the memories, not only those of Łukasz, connected with a specific person or an event. For example, a boy who threatened that he would jump into a pit if his parents would not buy him a motorbike ("A motorbike"). The gigantic old man who opened his suitcase and looked at the little houses and churches which were inside ( "A repatriate"): everone, who changes the place of living, strives for shaping the new place on the model of lost homeland. Tha is why, surely, Bukowiec without Lewandowscy family would be totally different today, like they would be different without Bukowiec. Although in Belorussie that village will be regarded only by the outlook of Lukasz-artist. A strong and big woman is carrying her drunk son- husband to home ("Polish piete"). Not funny, but also not tragical- probably in a painful and cruel way. The life... A drunk clerkman is sitting down on the roof of church. His addiction is over his vocation for being mediator between God and people ("Drunk Noe"). It is strange but a visitor from Moscow signed in the visitors' book that Lewandowski's linocuts offend the religious feelings of "orthodox christians"(?!). We should not only love our homeland, but also be critical towards it; it is preferable to start the critic from ourselves.

When Łukasz makes illustrations for tales, we usually or always see Bukowiec. Even the old tale, heard from his grandmother "How Jesus blessed the drunk men", takes place in contemporary Bukowiec (his grandmother came from the surroundings of Wilno and had a Polish- Belorussian or a Belorrusian- Polish surname and that is why.... Why do we turn down the possibility to add the next talented artist to our Belorussian culture?- it is quite credible that in consciousness of Łukasz there is, or just comes up, a drop of something "ours". The words of that parable are very simple: Jesus was driving in a cart and was looking for the land; he arrived very late at night (according to the Łukasz's verion) in Bukowiec. The cart got broken down. And who can you call for help in the middle of the night? The respectable people sleep. On the road you can only meet drunk men. Falling down, they manhandled that cart, even being covered with bruishes afterwards. Then Jesus said that every time they falled down they would not harm themselves. The influence of popular folk art is combined with an influence of Japanese print, and expressive images balance between reality and fantasy. These graphical works can be defined as abstractive and realistic at the same time. They show us that, in our lifes, like in the art, a sence of humour and direct actions are placed over the materialism and the calculation.
Cathegorical actions and caresses, stubborness and freedom, wit, defined by one of the witty people as "a fast mind". Complicated "deaf colours", a distinct sound as if somebody played violin far away.

It remains us to congratulate Poland on the next great artist, and wish to the audience the new meetings with Łukasz Lewandowski's artistic works, and fnally, wish to the young artist the new exhibitions, hot discussions about art (that is very good) and successes at work, whose direction is not easy. Nowadays, when one of the most important postulates of modern culture is a lack of sense in creatings the works of art, working with tradition is the most complicated and the first- rate thing. By contradicting and objecting to everything, the art will save what may be defined as "a manual work", because it is the basic of basics.
What concerns me, forever or for a very long time, I remember that nice little building which often occurs in linocuts of Łukasz- it is library in Bukowiec, where artist's mother works almost all her life. That's why, in the solar system of Bukowiec, it takes place similar to that of the Pole Star.

Larysa Michnikiewicz
Translation into Polish: mgr Edward Gałustow from Witebsk- a probation officer of exhibition "Bukowitz"