Sylvester Stabryła - Before the storm - Vienna

Vernissage 6.10.2016 / 20 Uhu

Before the Storm

It is the 6th October 2016 when Vienna holds the exhibition entitled “Before the storm…”, the latest one by Polish painter of a young generation Sylwester Stabryła. It is going to take place in the art gallery Die Schone, Kuffnergasse 7, 1160 Vienna.

“Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.”
By Oscar Wild

When looking at Sylwester Stabryła’s series of paintings “Before the storm…” we find ourselves engrossed in a strange spectacle where roles are acted and face expressions and gestures are made. It is a collection of works in which contemporary women build their common story. The storm is merely a beginning of a process of self-encounter, rebellion and disagreement and everything that follows them. It also becomes the change of awareness, personal destruction, ever flowing and constantly evolving concept of womanhood. Therefore, the models rehearse their imposed roles, try on their costumes, manipulate the attributes and stage props. They perceive the spectators as mirrors. Their bodies, mimes and gestures can be read as open text. There is no room for any uncontrolled elements of expression. All is play.

For the author himself, the key to understand this cycle is the idea of camouflage which for him involves the game of appearances, hiding the truth, putting on masks or concealing things. His intention is the presentation of heroines and anti-heroines who search for their identities, break out free from stereotypes, try to manifest their distinctiveness, find the “other” me, reach inside and reveal the hidden truth about themselves. That explains why the artist draws upon myths, fables or folklore from many cultures. He distills their essence and fills archetypes, gestures and symbols with new meanings in order to bring up fresh and contemporary to us associations. The painter attempts to accept the perspectives of his heroines, loyally doubts the myths and women’s representations present in culture. Here, subtle irony turns out to be a very effective tool for waking up one’s awareness. In the end, the storm then, although brings unrest and sometimes destruction, results in a reviving renewal.

Text by Agata Sulikowska-Dejena
Translation by Andrzej Orybkiewicz

About the artist:

Sylwester Stabryła is a contemporary Polish artist of a young generation from Sanok. He has taken part in many individual and collective exhibitions in Prague, Berlin, London, Warsaw and many Polish cities. He cooperates with art galleries and auction houses like Christie’s in London, DESA Unicum, POLSWISS ART, Bohema Nowa Sztuka. His figurative painting attracts a great deal of attention from critics and collectors both in Poland and worldwide.