Tomasz Barczyk (b. 1975, Chelm), "Box nautilus 12", 2024

Biography
Graduated with honors in 2001 from the Faculty of Fine Arts at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń (Honored with the Tymon Niesiolowski Medal). Professor in the Department of Graphic Arts at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń. Works in the field of painting, artistic graphics, also deals with visual automatic poetry. Works awarded and honored in many competitions such as: 1st prize in the 13th Quadriennale of Polish Woodcut and Linocut, prize in the 12th Józef Gielniak International Competition, honorable mention in the 7th Polish Graphic Arts Triennial. His works are in the public collections of Gallery 72 Museum in Chelm, Center for Contemporary Art in Torun, District Museum in Bydgoszcz, District Museum in Torun, Karkonosze Museum in Jelenia Gora, and in private collections at home and abroad. His artistic output includes over a dozen individual exhibitions (Gallery 72, Chelm; Wozownia Toruń; Spodki Gallery Białystok; Farbiarnia Warsaw) and about 200. collective exhibitions, such as: VI and VII Piotrkowskie Biennale of Art, gallery of the Center for Artistic Activities, Piotrkow Trybunalski; 2019, 2023; Gallery 72 - 50 years of shaping space for art - 1972-2022, Museum in Chelm; Different attitudes - four spaces. Masters of Modernity from the collection of Gallery 72, Museum in Chelm; Ulsan International Woodcut Biennale, Ulsan, South Korea; 9. International Printmaking Triennial COLOR IN GRAPHICS, Wozownia, Toruń, 2018; TransPRINT, NOESIS Thessaloniki Sience Center and Technology Museum, Greece, 2018; Dot to Dot / Museum Fashions, Center for Contemporary Art, Toruń, 2016; East and West, a good relationship, L'écurie, espace d'art contemporain, Liege, Belgium, 2014.

BOX SYMPTOM is a series of works that evolved from Tomasz Barczyk's earlier creative path. It combines two aspects that have long appeared in the artist's prints and paintings. The first is a geometric and structural element, and the second stems from automatic poetry and the idea of writing as a trace on the plane, or even writing as drawing. Both components create harmonious compositions that also utilize an optical theme. Minimalism and a mainly narrow color palette limited to black, white, gray and gold are meant to facilitate the process of metaphysical study of a pure image devoid of obvious content. In this process, art is an intellectual game that balances on the interface of thought and imagination, and the idea of the cube/box is meant to facilitate the viewer's insight into unlimited abstract spaces.