The Ghost as a Synonym of Existential Questions

Hardly any artist manages to stick to a single way of expression all his life and still be successful.  Although he creates a little and with pauses, the artist known as KW has accomplished this model. However, his painting does not represent a sophisticated discovery of a suitable concept. It is for its very spontaneity and “simplicity” that it arouses both suspicion and astonishment. Without a trace of routine.

Fifteen years ago, I have called his painting style a contract with the unconscious; the contract has not been dissolved yet. In his latest collection Ghosts, which combines painting, photography, video and objects, he captures the constant presence of ghosts in our lives. His paintings have always been inhabited by ghosts who are seen as a synonym of numerous essential timeless questions. KW shows the spectators the way to see them, as observation is his strongest point. If the artist can see really well, he will most probably also be able to mediate his observations. To the artist, observation is a reconstruction of a real experience, making ghosts unseen by others visible. They can be seen in the open door of a spaceship, in an empty glass in front of a greyhound, in a sculptural group of satellites as well as in a dancing phantom. Naturally materializing in the artist’s easy painting style, the images of the ghosts are credible as they have always been part of his paintings.

In his photographs, the artist follows another kind of ghosts. They are not so ephemeral and do not stand for anything. They are darker ghosts, made out of anxiety and chance. They only appear for a few seconds. KW is registering them in an archive to be able to manipulate them a little.

Although it is a known fact that art means nothing but itself, KW is an artist who keeps challenging this thesis.

Lenka Lindaurová

KW  (Igor Korpaczewski)
Born 1959 in Prague. Lives and works in Prague, Czech Republic.
Since 1993 Assistant Professor, Painting Studio of Jiri Sopko, Academy of Fine Arts in Prague

Education
1988 Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna, AT
1983-1989 Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, CZ

Solo exhibitions (selected)
2011
KW with Markéta Othová, Moravian Gallery, Brno, CZ
Q: Hírous (with Robert Šalanda), Galerie NoD, Prague
2010
Family, Kabinet T gallery, Zlin, CZ
2009
Q: Wake UP!, Meetfactory, Prague
2001 Bůh má oči všude, Václav Špála Gallery, Prague
1996 Bonds of Love, Galerie JNJ, Prague
1993 KW, Galerie U Řečických, Prague
1992 Odrazy a stíny, Studio Rubín, Prague
Group exhibitions (selected)
2011
The Islands of Resistance. Between the First and Second Modernity 1985-2012, curated by Jiří Ševčík, Edith Jeřábková & Jana Ševčíková, National Gallery in Prague
6th New Zlín Salon, Regional Gallery of Fine Arts in Zlin, Zlin, CZ
2008
Resetting/ Alternative Ways To Objektivity, City Gallery Prague
INtroCITY/ Nukleární rodina, Topičův salon, Prague

2003 – 2004 Perfect Tense – Painting Today, City Gallery Prague
2003 ARTNOW.CZ, Exhibition Hall Manes, Prague
2002 Keine Grenze, Mannheim, Germany
2000 Na volné téma, Galerie V. Špály, Prague
1998 Low Budget, Exhibition Hall Manes, Prague
1997 Artwork in Public Space, National Gallery in Prague
1995 Test run, Exhibition Hall Manes, Prague
1993 That What Remains, Štenc House, Prague
1991 Artist House, Jerusalem, Izrael
1988 Konfrontace, Svárov, CZ