Warsaw, the Village of Wygnanka and Bochum: Stages of an Artistic Journey

Grzegorz Andrzej Woldański (AGWOLD) was born in Warsaw (1947). After attending the usual stages of education, he studied the art of restoration (Faculty of Sculpture) at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts (ASP). As a painter G.A. Woldański is self-taught.

Between 1970 and 1983 G.A. Woldański was a member of the Warsaw group of painters, known as “The Independents”.

In this period, his pictures and collages were determined by his fascination with technical drawings, by experimenting with traditional techniques and materials as well as the testing of the lighting direction according to the Dutch paintings of the 16th century. To him, it seemed ideal to express his artistic interest in primarily black and white collages.

Following this phase of creative work, G.A. Woldański painted „Fantastic Figures“. Films, such as e.g. “Star Wars” or “E.T. – The Extra-Terrestrial” made him dream about his own ‘extra-terrestrials’. He gave them a shape in pictures.

After putting two of his larger pictures together to form a figure, a line-like gap could be observed between them appearing like a ‘ray’ to the painter. The first shock led to the questions, if this ray originated from the Universe or if it derived from other civilisations… In the following cycles of his art G.A. Woldański painted “Abstract Cosmic Rays” and “Movement in the Universe”.

Change has been part of his life: frequent journeying around Eastern and Western Europe, the move from the capital city Warsaw to the remote village of Wygnanka raising challenges within him in being confronted with the unknown. It was with child-like joy that he discovered the wonder of nature’s colours in the Wygnanka countryside. G.A. Woldański transformed his art from figurative to abstract. The theme of his paintings became the movement of a ray in infinity – even though “… I do not often look up to the sky, because I wear a hat.”

Painting, music and light were incorporated in his work in 1987 whereby he captured a ray out of space on the wall of a quarry.

Currently, G.A. Woldański’s interest is exclusively focused on painting ’Movement in the Universe’.

For many years G.A. Woldański (AGWOLD) has lived and worked in Wygnanka (Poland) and Bochum (Ruhr District).