Positive Expressfusion

Positive Expressfusion / 10.10.2025 - 15.11.2025

From 10 October, the City Gallery will showcase a selection of works by five leading Polish neo-expressionists: Zbigniew Dowgiałło, Ryszard Grzyb, Zdzisław Nitka, Krzysztof Skarbek and Wojciech Tracewski. The exhibition centres on the dialogue between the artists, as well as the inner dialogue each of them has pursued over the past forty years.

“Positive Expressfusion” brings together five vivid expressionists associated with the so-called New Expression movement. Its title reflects an affirmative outlook on life and art, while also underlining the humour and ongoing conversation within their work. These artists emerged in the spirit of “Solidarity” and in opposition to the communist regime and status quo, working in parallel with Germany’s “Neue Wilde” (“new wild ones”) and other trans-avantgarde creators.

The trans-avantgarde rejected the pressure to seek perpetual novelty and the idea of a strictly linear evolution in art. As Krzysztof Stanisławski notes, quoting critic Achille Bonito Oliva, its representatives “should draw freely on the entire history of art, quoting works, styles, and poetics with unrestricted liberty.” This approach is evident in the five painters presented here, each of whom – drawing on expressionism and other traditions – developed new quality and a distinct artistic language, thus contributing to the emergence of New Expression.

The exhibition also traces the transformation of these artists since their turbulent beginnings in the 1980s, focusing in particular on their most recent works. Viewers will encounter the unrestrained vitality and wild expressiveness of Zbigniew Dowgiałło; the rebellious, at times unsettling, surrealist and enigmatic visions of Ryszard Grzyb; Zdzisław Nitka’s paintings, emotionally charged yet simultaneously rooted in aesthetics and philosophy of German Expressionism; the postmodern works of Krzysztof Skarbek, filled with dreams, irony and cultural as well as pop-cultural references; and the colourful, humorous yet melancholic, compelling and intriguingly ambiguous paintings of Wojciech Tracewski.

Although “Positive Expressfusion” consists mainly of oil and acrylic paintings, the ideas and emotions they convey reach well beyond the canvas. It is a fusion of different world visions, filling the mind with dreams and uplifting the spirit with positive energy.

We warmly invite you to the official opening of the exhibition on 9 October at 6:00 pm.

The evening will feature a musical performance by Połykacze Pereł z Odry and friends.

The exhibition runs until 15 November 2025.

Curator: Aleksander Jasiński