Chabret, oil on canvas, 27x33cm, 2003 Work signed.
Benedykt Kroplewski. Born in 1948 in Malbork. Graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts, Faculty of Painting, Graphics and Sculpture in Gdansk, in the studios of Prof. Haras and Janowski. He defended his diploma in 1980. He works in painting, graphic design, drawing, illustration and posters. It is an oeuvre standing in opposition to contemporary painting, referring at the level of form and imagery to the culturally established convention of medieval art, perhaps drawing from the Flemish school, at the same time daringly posing as naive art, after which the aforementioned elements float into modernity through an unexpected leap into surrealism. This melange of directions determines the unique character of Kroplewski's paintings, situating them somewhere on the borderline of metaphysical or at times mystical art. The symbolism contained in the works is an invitation to the viewer to co-create and complete the suggested world. The naive convention gives us courage, the medieval convention suggests something familiar, only to suddenly, with a surrealist breakthrough, lead us into perplexity and awe.
