Krzysztof Pęciński was born on 20 November 1940 in Warsaw. His father was Marian Pęciński - a tenor who before the war was associated with the Municipal Chamber Theatre in Częstochowa, after the war he worked at the Grand Theatre in Warsaw. His mother came from a working-class family and worked as a nurse in a military hospital in Warsaw. After the war, the family received a small flat on Nowotki Street. In 1956, his younger sister Sylwia was born.

"Mum wanted him to become a doctor or a lawyer, possibly a musician. For a while he learned to play the violin, but he didn't do very well because he wasn't particularly interested. His real passion was painting. According to his sister's account, he painted his first picture at the age of 16". (S. Pęcińska, correspondence of 02.09.2023)

Krzysztof Pęciński graduated from the Poniatowski Secondary School in Warsaw. Then, between 1960 and 1966, he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Toruń, where he obtained a diploma in painting and pedagogy.

After his studies, thanks to his father's intercession, Pęciński briefly began working as a scriptwriter at the Grand Theatre, but his own artistic activity was more important to him. He also had his own studio on Tamka Street in Warsaw. He often travelled to Denmark and Holland. His sister recalls these times as follows: "When he came back to Poland and was at home I was very happy because I finally had my brother close. He would tell me about the foreign country, he would bring home interesting friends and thus bring a breath of fresh air." (S. Pęcińska, correspondence of 02.09.2023) These colleagues included Andrzej Różycki, with whom he studied together at the Academy of Fine Arts in Toruń, and Paweł Freisler. With the latter he had 'hour-long conversations on various topics, heated discussions about life' (S. Pęcińska, email correspondence of 02.09.2023), and one of these conversations became the crux of the action Meeting and Conversations realised by Freisler in 1972 (Ł. Ronduda, Polish Art Of the 70s, Warsaw 2009, p. 50).

Pęciński was at the centre of the artistic ferment of Polish art in the 1970s. He was a member of the so-called Polish-American Audio-Visual Performance Group, an association of musicians, artists, writers and actors, with which he had a joint exhibition, The Experiment, in 1973-1974. At the time, the artist experimented with various artistic expressions: informal painting, land art, conceptual art. [ill. 1-4].

He also produced cover designs, such as: 1972 he designed the cover for the publication Z teorii teatru. Materials from a theatre session. Poznań - 1970 (Warsaw, 1972). Then, in 1974, there were the covers for the books Folklor Lachów Sądeckich and Teatr wyobraźni: a selection of radio plays (both published by the Central Methodological Centre for Upowszechniania Kultury in Warsaw in 1974).

By this time he had already realised several of his exhibitions: "Hatching" at the Contemporary Gallery in Warsaw (1970), "Opus for Permanent Material" at the Sculpture Gallery in Warsaw (1970), "Morphology of Yellow" at the Sigma Gallery in Warsaw (1972) and "Yellow Line" at the EL Gallery in Elbląg (1972).

In 1973, he met his first wife, the Swiss Ursula Keller, who was then studying at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw on a scholarship. The couple married in 1975, at which time his first daughter Nadja was born. In 1976 they decided to move to Switzerland, to Winterthur near Zurich - Ursula's home town. At this point, mention should be made of Christopher's second daughter Anna, who was born in 1984, from the artist's second marriage.

In the new city, Pęciński quickly managed to make a name for himself in the rather hermetic artistic world. He opened his first atelier in his flat opposite the Fotomuseum in Winterthur. Then, the wealthy Reinhard family of art patrons, who had bought several works from him, allowed him to use one of their disused buildings, (originally housing a swimming pool and gymnasium), for his studio. The new, large space allowed the artist to create multi-dimensional paintings.

Two years after his arrival, he became a member of the Künstlergruppe Winterthur, an association that, without favouring one style, promoted the art of local artists by organising exhibitions and panel discussions on art topics. (For more on: https: //www.kuenstlergruppe.ch/kuenstlergruppe/ueber-uns.cfm ).

He also had several successful exhibitions (in 1973 at Galerie 70, in 1975 and 1981 at Galerie Ge, both in Winterthur). Despite his considerable success, Pecinski lacked the artistic debate he experienced in Poland. In a documentary film made in 1992, the artist confessed:

"My life would have turned out completely differently in Poland. I would have had a completely different type of satisfaction here, a type that I would never have had in Poland. And what I miss is the atmosphere I had in Poland, which was positive. Those frequent conversations with colleagues, meetings, the club. Meetings with others, with critics. It was working. These people would say what they were doing, talk about you, criticise you, excite you. These were impulses, it was a competition on a completely different basis than here. Here one is isolated. Here you don't have these discussions about art at the table. Everyone thinks and knows for themselves only what they know. There is no question of someone coming, for example, unannounced to the studio - no, because it is yours, it is sacred." (excerpts from a documentary film about Krzysztof Pęciński, made as part of the series "Wspólnota w Kulturze" by TV Wrocław, edited by Stanisław Pater (directed by Stanisław Ryszard Kubiak), 1992)

Pęciński became known for his cynicism and irony. As the artist himself admitted, "my defence is, for example, some grotesqueness, irony, cynicism. Of myself often. They take it personally." (excerpts from the film, 1992). One example of such provocation was the rust-coloured repainted VW Beetle he drove to the collective exhibition 'Junge Winterthur Künstler' at the Kunstmuseum in Winterthur in 1980. He later drove it on the streets and motorways, attracting the eye and astonishing the "pedantic Swiss".

In addition, Krzysztof Pęcińki loved to travel. While still a student, he stayed in Denmark, toured Europe, visited his sister and friends in Australia, and stopped off in Bali and Papua New Guinea along the way. These were his "pilgrimages to sacred lands" (A. Różycki, sketch for the film from S. Pęcińska's archive), where the artist followed "the footsteps of ancient tribal cultures", and where he communed with "nature untouched by human activity" (A. Jackowski, catalogue of the exhibition "Krzysztof Pięciński. Paintings from 1981-1991", Studio Gallery, Warsaw 11-31 May 1992, n.p.). He also travelled to the United States, where he had the opportunity to show his works at New York's Kerr Galery (1986, 1988). Nadja Pęcińska, in a text about her father, interpreted these trips as an eternal search for his place in the world. (N. Pecinska, Anch'io sono pittore 2005). His sister recalls that her brother visited her many times in Cairns because 'he loved the tropics, the sea, the colours there, the space and the sense of freedom'. (S. Pęcinska, email correspondence dated 12.09.2023). He also had exhibitions there, the first in 1990 at Palm Court Gallery and the second at Cairns Regional Gallery in 2000. [ills 5, 6] On the occasion of the second exhibition, the artist conducted several painting workshops for local students. [ill. 7]

At this point it is also worth mentioning the artist's participation in three editions of Art Basel (1984, '85 and '87), as well as the exhibition at Warsaw's Studio gallery entitled

"Krzysztof Pęciński. Paintings from 1981-1991' (Studio Gallery, Warsaw 11-31 May 1992). [ill. 8] The text for the catalogue was written by Aleksander Jackowski, a respected art and cultural studies critic, who calls Pęciński 'an extraordinary painter (...) one of the most interesting in contemporary art. He is creative, constantly surprising us with new forms, which, however, consistently evolve from his earlier work." (A. Jackowski, catalogue of the exhibition "Krzysztof Pięciński. Paintings from 1981-1991', Studio Gallery, Warsaw 11-31 May 1992, n.n.).

From the beginning of his artistic activity, Pêciński was fascinated by strong, inflexible, brutal elements such as concrete, iron or rust. At that time, he created a series of paintings depicting machine fragments, metal plates, damaged, rusted, on which one can see worn-out inscriptions and torn stickers. [fn. 9, 10] Pęciński described this fascination as follows:

"In 1975, while I was still in Warsaw, it started with this damn machine, a concrete mixer, which stood, which looked very impressive, but it didn't function. It stood, I don't know, a year at least, actually after I painted that machine I saw what I had painted. This is our system. This is our Poland. It looks beautiful, nobody comes for it, nobody needs it, it seems to serve something but it doesn't. It's standing. It just stands there. And this contrast between the function of this object and the image, why such metal plates - this was our iron curtain. This rusty iron curtain. Which, however, something moves there: this water and this wind and this sun - even this iron curtain moves." (extract from a 1992 film)

In the years that followed, Pêciñski developed his technique for creating images, which involved oxidising powdered iron on a plane of paper. Depending on the time of oxidation and the proportion, the rust took on various colours and shades of brown: from light, honey-coloured to dark red. The artist used a brush to apply the powder to the damp substrate. Then the erosion process, controlled by Pecinski, began to deform the material on which the powder was placed. It reacted differently on cardboard and differently on canvas. As Jackowski described this technique, the rust enriches the texture of the painting, adding depth, dimensionality. (A. Jackowski, 1992, n.n.)

Pęciński knew exactly how to distribute the powder to achieve a given effect, sometimes intervening in the process by applying acrylic paint. His creation was the result of attentiveness and artistic vision, which also allowed for elements of chance, or better, the properties of living matter. Jackowski writes of the artist's dialogue with matter. "A dialogue, because in the course of painting, the painting changes. Literally - it ages. The black, glossy filings, almost

turn rusty before your eyes, crumble into dust, change their consistency. They provoke action, like a partner in a game. A clever, simple and sophisticated game, I might add." (A. Jackowski, 1992, n.n.).

With this technique, Pęciński created works full of expression, tension, anxiety. Rust is a symbol of erosion, the slow yet inevitable destruction associated with transience. Through this medium, the artist sought the essence of things, a universal sign, a figurative and abstract symbol. The result was paintings full of expressive power depicting human figures caught up in constant conflicts with the world and with themselves.

"I'm trying to imagine that first man, his desire to convey some kind of information there. That first sign. What was he thinking making that cross or that line in the sand with his finger".

He continues:

"I wanted to find a sign that encompasses all people. What is it? Seen through the eyes of a child. A child sees things simply. Not what he sees actually just what he knows. It knows that a man has a head, it knows that a man has two hands and it knows that he has two legs. Apart from that there is nothing. And that is the mark of man. (...) I am able (...) to simplify the sign so much that I arrive at this archaic and primordial form, where nothing can be subtracted or added. These signs are painted for me and for you at the same time." (excerpts from the 1992 film) [ill. 11-15].

The multi-dimensional, monochromatic paintings, most often untitled, evoked associations with the wall paintings of primitive people. The artist introduced sign compositions into his paintings, which became 'a moving element of the narrative'. As we read in an article published in Artspeak (16.03.1986, New York), the artist formulated symbols evoking magic, myths, demons and dreams, and through them created a personal mythology as well as a mythology of the contemporary world. For example, the archaic figure combining man and animal at the same time, which, according to the artist, are one and the same thing. Hunter and prey in one. He wanted to encapsulate this duality in a single form, simplified to its essence. One of the recurring elements in these compositions was the circle and arrow, which Pecinski interpreted as follows:

"The arrow beaks, the arrow flies forward. Exactly, it beaks you. The circle-something that goes forward, also moves. And these two together - war. Just war. It's a sort of state of unrest. Aggressive." (extracts from a 1992 film)

In the press, he was often compared to artistic activities close to the shamanism of Joseph Beuys or to the neo-primitive painting of A. R. Penck (Basler Zeitung, 06.09.1984, Basel; Der Landbote, 23.08.1990, Winterthur), but as he aptly notes

Jackowski, 'analogies explain little', since signs and symbols play a different role in each of these artists. (A. Jackowski, 1992, n.n.)

In his later period, Pecinski moved away from the technique of oxidised iron pollen and began to paint gloomy and melancholic landscapes in which the artist sought elusive states of the changing horizon, of light. These were often paintings depicting skies thick with heavy clouds through which the sun's rays penetrate. He achieved suggestive effects with a few brushstrokes using dark acrylic paints. [ill. 16- 22].

All of Pêciñski's works are characterised by an extraordinary intensity, an inner state of the artist that combined humour, irony, anxiety and loneliness. He depicted existential themes that he himself experienced, after all he saw war, death, fear, as well as birth, love, joy. Perhaps because of this duality of the world, of which he was aware, and the duality of his own states, he could never find peace and find his place in the world. During one of his visits to his sister, he confessed: "I don't fit in this life" (S. Pęcinska, email correspondence dated 25.09.2023). In turn, Nadja Pecinska recalls her artist father as follows:

"The consistent, unconventional Krzysztof Pęciński always remained true to himself and his art. He did not conform either in life or in art. He was restless, critical, questioning. An intellectual who often felt misunderstood and never felt comfortable anywhere, he never quite settled down." (N. Pecinska, Anch'io sono pittore, 2005)

Krzysztof Pęciński, being on a perpetual journey and in a perpetual search, did not seek publicity, did not care about fame. That is why in Poland today the artist's name does not appear in any publications and his works are known mainly abroad. His friend, the film director Andrzej Różycki sought to recognise Pęciński, and his intention was to make a documentary film, or better - a film reflection on the artist, in which he wanted to present his works and himself as "the most interesting contemporary painter in the world (...) who with all his life, with all the ways of his own search and vital creative activity so far, completely denies the crisis of painting". (A. Różycki, sketch for the film from the S. Pęcińska archive). Unfortunately, this project was never realised.

Krzysztof Pecinski died after a short illness on 9 June 2003. Family and friends organised a farewell evening at his studio in Winterthur. "It was supposed to be a celebration of his life, not a funeral, just a moment of reflection and remembrance, but a continuation of what he liked, i.e. a gathering of acquaintances and friends, conversations, music, bigos, red wine and a nicely spent time." (S. Pęcińska, email correspondence of 26.09.2023). [ill. 23].

Under the painting, depicting Tadeusz Różewicz's poem To the Memory of Konstanty Puzyna (1989), the guests laid white flowers and then listened to an excerpt from Miles Davis's Siesta - this was the artist's wish.

Time for me

Time is pressing

what to take with me

to that shore

nothing

so that's all there is to it, Mama

Yes, son, that's all

so that's it

that's it

so this is the whole of life

so a whole life.

* * *

In compiling this text, correspondence with Krzysztof Pęciński's family was an invaluable source of information: Sylvia Pecinski, Anna Pecinski, Ursula Keller-Pecinski and Nadja Pecinski. For all their help and disposition, I would like to express my sincere thanks.

Some of Krzysztof Pęciński's paintings are stored with the artist's family, other works can be found in the St. Urban gallery ( https://www.art-st-urban.com/ ) and the city of Winterthur, which holds 7 works by the artist in its archives.