Andrzej Urbanski (Polish 1983 - ) A046/34/31/18, from the 20...

Estimate

R70,000 - R100,000

Andrzej Urbanski (Polish 1983 - ) A046/34/31/18, from the 2018 FREQUENCY 3 series

More Information

inscribed with the title and the dated 2018 on the stretcher frame
spray paint and acrylic on canvas, framed in Kiaat
116 by 92cm

PROVENANCE
Purchased from Everard Read in 2019

Cape Town-based contemporary artist, Andrzej Urbanski, creates hard-edged abstract pieces that are painstakingly thought out and executed to resemble pieces that are seemingly machine-made or digitally produced. Much like the artists of the hard-edged abstract movement of the sixties, Urbanski adopts a consciously impersonal approach to his paint application, eliminating gestural elements, and removing any trace of the artist’s hand. Urbanski approaches his works with a robotic precision, paying attention to the smallest of details, in an attempt to avoid possible human error. While the artist has recognised that this is an impossible pursuit, he aims to create something that seems perfect, drawing the viewer in, and allowing them to take a closer look and identify the human influence.

While the artist’s works fully encompass hard-edged abstraction, characterized by finite, flat forms and rimmed by harsh, clean edges, he masterfully manages to create a sense of fluidity within a seemingly static composition. Urbanski is focused on how each form and colour engages with the next, with overlapping colours and shapes implying fluidity and resolution. The artist has spent many years exploring the dynamics and frequencies of shape, recognising the impact of stepping out of the typical square canvas, and creating pieces that are multi-cornered and angular in design.

Urbanski uses spray paint as his primary medium, which not only affords him the ability to apply colour in a flat plane, but also connects to the artist’s upbringing and artistic influences. Growing up in Berlin’s ‘Grey Zone’ after the fall of the wall in the eighties, the artist was in the middle of a new blending of east and west, and this allowed him to become involved in street culture, and subsequently, street art. Urbanski experimented with spray paint as a graffiti ‘train bomber’, but eventually applied this technique to a more refined form of art. In this way, Urbanski’s works act as an intersection between ‘high’ and ‘low’ art, and a confluence of fine art and street art.

Urbanski is represented by one of the top galleries in South Africa, Everard Read, and has successfully exhibited around South Africa, Europe and Canada. This prolific artist is certainly on our lists of young contemporary artists to watch, and we are very pleased to be offering one of his works. -AC


A Urbanski, A Urbanski, Accessed 9 May, 2021. http://aurbanski.co.za/about/

Everard Read, Andrzej Urbanski, Accessed 9 May, 2021. https://www.everardlondon.com/artist/ANDRZEJ_URBANSKI/biography/