Childhood and education

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, and after the war worked at the Grand Theatre in Warsaw. His mother came from a working-class family and worked as a nurse at a military hospital in Warsaw. After the war, the family were given a small flat on Nowotki Street. In 1956, his younger sister, Sylwia, was born.

“Mum wanted him to become a doctor or a lawyer, or perhaps a musician. He learnt to play the violin for a while, but he wasn’t very good at it because he wasn’t particularly interested. His true passion was painting. According to his sister, he painted his first picture when he was 16.” (S. Pęcińska, correspondence dated 2 September 2023)

Krzysztof Pęciński graduated from the Poniatowski General Secondary School in Warsaw. He then studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Toruń from 1960 to 1966 , where he obtained a degree in painting and pedagogy.

Professional career

After graduating, thanks to his father’s intervention, Pęciński briefly began working as a scriptwriter at the Grand Theatre; however, his own artistic work was more important to him. He also had his own studio on Tamka Street in Warsaw. He often travelled to Denmark and the Netherlands . His sister recalls those times as follows:

“When he came back to Poland and was at home, I was very happy because at last I had my brother close by. He would talk about life abroad, bring interesting friends home, and in doing so brought a breath of fresh air.” (S. Pęcińska, correspondence dated 2 September 2023)

These friends included, amongst others, Andrzej Różycki , with whom he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Toruń, and Paweł Freisler . With the latter, he would have “hour-long conversations on various topics, heated discussions about life” (S. Pęcińska, email correspondence dated 2 September 2023), and one of these conversations became the core of the work *Meeting and Conversations*, produced by Freisler in 1972 (Ł. Ronduda, *Polish Art of the 70s*, Warsaw 2009, p. 50).

Pęciński was at the centre of the artistic ferment in Polish art of the 1970s. He belonged to the so-called Polish-American Audio-Visual Performance Group , an association of musicians, artists, writers and actors, with whom he held a joint exhibition entitled ‘ The Experiment’ in 1973–1974 . At that time, the artist experimented with various forms of artistic expression: informal painting, land art and conceptual art. [figs. 1–4]

He also produced cover designs , including: in 1972, he designed the cover for the publication *On Theatre Theory. Materials from a Theatre Session*. Poznań – 1970 (Warsaw, 1972). Subsequently, in 1974, he designed the covers for the books *Folklore of the Lach People of Sądeckie* and *The Theatre of the Imagination: A Selection of Radio Plays* (both published by the Central Centre for the Methodology of Cultural Dissemination in Warsaw in 1974).

By this time, he had already held several of his own exhibitions: ‘Wylęg’ at the Contemporary Art Gallery in Warsaw (1970), ‘Opus na materiał trwały’ at the Sculpture Gallery in Warsaw (1970), ‘Morfologia żółci’ at the Sigma Gallery in Warsaw (1972) and ‘Żółta linia’ at the EL Gallery in Elbląg (1972).

In 1973, he met his first wife, the Swiss Ursula Keller , who was studying at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw on a scholarship at the time. The couple got married in 1975 , and it was then that his first daughter, Nadja, was born . In 1976, they decided to move to Switzerland, to Winterthur near Zurich – Ursula’s hometown. At this point, it is worth mentioning Krzysztof’s second daughter, Anna, who was born in 1984 from the artist’s second marriage.

In his new city, Pęciński quickly made a name for himself in the rather insular art world. He opened his first studio in his flat opposite the Fotomuseum in Winterthur. Subsequently, the wealthy family of art patrons, the Reinhards – who had purchased several of his works – allowed him to use one of their disused buildings ( which had originally housed a swimming pool and a gymnasium) as his studio. This new, spacious studio enabled the artist to create multidimensional paintings .

Two years after his arrival , he became a member of the Künstlergruppe Winterthur, an association which, without favouring any particular style, promoted the work of local artists by organising exhibitions and panel discussions on art-related topics. ( More on this) .

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

“My life would have turned out completely differently in Poland. Here I had a completely different kind of satisfaction, the sort I would never have had in Poland. What I miss is that atmosphere I had in Poland, which was positive. Those frequent conversations with colleagues, get-togethers, the club. Meetings with others, with critics. We were working. Those people would talk about what they were doing, they’d talk about you, criticise you, spur you on. Those were the stimuli; it was a form of competition based on a completely different principle to what we have here. Here, a person is isolated. Here, you don’t have those sort of conversations about art over a meal. Everyone thinks and knows only what they know for themselves. There’s no question of anyone, for example, turning up unannounced at the studio – no, because it’s yours, it’s sacred.” (excerpts from a documentary film about Krzysztof Pęciński, produced as part of the ‘Wspólnota w Kulturze’ series by TV Wrocław, edited by Stanisław Pater (dir. Stanisław Ryszard Kubiak), 1992)

Pęciński became known for his cynicism and irony . As the artist himself admitted, “my defence is, for example, a certain grotesqueness, irony, cynicism. Often directed at myself. They take it personally.” (excerpts from the film, 1992). One example of such provocation was a VW Beetle repainted rust-coloured , which he drove in 1980 to the group exhibition ‘Junge Winterthur Künstler’ at the Kunstmuseum in Winterthur. Later, he drove it around the streets and motorways, catching the eye and arousing astonishment amongst the ‘pedantic Swiss’.

Travels

Furthermore, Krzysztof Pęcińki loved to travel . Whilst still a student, he stayed in Denmark, travelled around Europe , visited his sister and friends in Australia , stopping off in Bali and Papua New Guinea along the way . These were his “pilgrimages to holy lands” (A. Różycki, film script from the archives of S. Pęcińska), where the artist followed “in the footsteps of ancient tribal cultures” and communed with “nature untouched by human activity” (A. Jackowski, exhibition catalogue ‘Krzysztof Pięciński. Paintings from 1981–1991’, Galeria Studio, Warsaw, 11–31 May 1992, no page number). He also travelled to the United States , where he had the opportunity to exhibit his works at the Kerr Gallery in New York ( 1986, 1988). In a text about her father, Nadja Pęcińska interpreted these journeys as a ceaseless search for his place in the world. (N. Pęcińska, *Anch’io sono pittore*, 2005). His sister recalls that her brother visited her in Cairns on numerous occasions because “he loved the tropics, the sea, the colours there, the space and the sense of freedom”. (S. Pęcińska, email correspondence dated 12 September 2023). He also held exhibitions there ; the first, in 1990, took place at the Palm Court Gallery, whilst the second was held at the Cairns Regional Gallery in 2000. [Figs. 5, 6] To mark the second exhibition, the artist ran several painting workshops for local students. [Fig. 7]

Characteristics of his work

It is also worth mentioning here the artist’s participation in three editions of Art Basel ( 1984, ’85 and ’87), as well as an exhibition at the Studio Gallery in Warsaw entitled ‘Krzysztof Pęciński. Paintings from 1981–1991’ (Studio Gallery, Warsaw, 11–31 May 1992). [fig. 8] The catalogue text was written by Aleksander Jackowski, a highly regarded art and cultural studies critic, who describes Pęciński as

“an extraordinary painter (…) one of the most interesting figures in contemporary art. He is creative, constantly surprising us with new forms, which nevertheless consistently evolve from his earlier work”. (A. Jackowski, exhibition catalogue “Krzysztof Pięciński. Paintings from 1981–1991”, Studio Gallery, Warsaw, 11–31 May 1992, no page number).

From the very beginning of his artistic career, Pięciński was fascinated by strong, inflexible, brutal materials such as concrete, iron and rust. At that time, he created a series of paintings depicting fragments of machines and metal plates—damaged and rusted—on which one can see worn-away inscriptions and torn-off stickers. [figs. 9, 10] Pięciński spoke of this fascination as follows:

“In 1975, whilst I was still in Warsaw, it all began with that damned machine, a concrete mixer, which stood there looking very impressive but didn’t work. It stood there for, I don’t know, at least a year; in fact, it was only after I’d painted that machine that I realised what I’d actually painted. This is our system. This is our Poland. It looks beautiful; no one claims it, nobody needs it; it’s as if it serves a purpose, yet it doesn’t. It just stands there. And that contrast between the function of this object and the image – why those metal plates? – that was our Iron Curtain. That rusty, iron curtain. Which something, however, is stirring: that water and that wind and that sun – they even stir that iron curtain.” (excerpt from a 1992 film)

In the years that followed, Pęciński developed his own technique for creating paintings, which involved oxidising powdered iron on a sheet of paper . Depending on the duration of the oxidation process and the proportions used, the rust took on a wide variety of colours and shades of brown: from light, honey-coloured hues to dark reds. The artist applied the powder to a damp surface using a brush. Subsequently, the erosion process, controlled by Pęciński, began to deform the material on which the powder had been applied. It reacted differently on cardboard than on canvas. As Jackowski described this technique, the rust enriches the texture of the painting , adding depth and dimensionality to it. (A. Jackowski, 1992, n.p.)

Pęciński knew exactly how to apply the powder, to achieve a particular effect, and would sometimes intervene 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 rather, the properties of living matter. Jackowski writes of the artist’s dialogue with matter.

‘A dialogue, because the painting changes as it is being created. Literally – it ages. Black, glossy filings, turning red almost before one’s eyes, crumble into dust, changing their consistency. They provoke one to act, like a partner in a game. I would add, a game that is wise, simple and refined”. (A. Jackowski, 1992, n.p.).

Thanks to this technique, Pęciński created works full of expression, tension and unease. Rust is a symbol of erosion, of the slow yet inevitable destruction associated with the passage of time. Through this medium, the artist sought the essence of things, a universal sign, a figurative and abstract symbol. The resulting paintings, brimming with expressive power, depicted human figures entangled in constant conflicts with the world and with themselves.

“I try to imagine that first human being, his desire to convey some sort of information. That first sign. What was he thinking when he made that cross or that line in the sand with his finger?”

And further:

“I wanted to find a symbol that encompasses all people. What is it? Seen through the eyes of a child. A child sees things simply. Not what they actually see, but what they know. They know that a person has a head, they know that a person has two arms, and they know that they have two legs. Apart from that, there is nothing. And that is the symbol of a human being. (…) I am able to (…) simplify the symbol to such an extent that I arrive at this archaic and primordial form, from which nothing can be taken away or added. These symbols are painted for me and, at the same time, for you.” (excerpts from a 1992 film) [fig. 11–15]

Multidimensional, monochromatic paintings, most often untitled, evoked associations with the wall paintings of primitive peoples. The artist incorporated compositions of symbols into his paintings , which became a ‘dynamic element of the narrative’. As stated in an article published in Artspeak (16 March 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, an archaic figure combining both human and animal, which, according to the artist, are one and the same. Hunter and prey in one. He sought to encapsulate this duality in a single form, simplified to the utmost, reduced to its very essence. One of the recurring elements in these compositions was the circle and the arrow , which Pęciński interpreted as follows:

“The arrow pierces; the arrow flies forwards. Exactly, it will peck you. The circle – something that moves forwards, it’s also in motion. And these two elements together – war. Simply war. It is a state of unrest. Aggressive.” (excerpts from a 1992 film)

In the press, he was often compared to the artistic practice of Joseph Beuys , which was close to shamanism, or to the neo-primitivist painting of A. R. Penck ( Basler Zeitung, 6 September 1984, Basel; Der Landbote, 23 August 1990, Winterthur), yet, as

Jackowski states that “analogies explain little”, as signs and symbols play a different role for each of these artists. (A. Jackowski, 1992, n.p.)

In his later period, Pęciński moved away from the technique of oxidised iron filings and began to paint sombre and melancholic landscapes , in which the artist sought the elusive states of the shifting horizon and light. These were often paintings depicting a sky thick with heavy clouds, through which rays of sunlight break. He achieved evocative effects with just a few brushstrokes using dark acrylic paints. [Figs. 16–22]

All of Pęciński’s works are characterised by extraordinary intensity , reflecting the artist’s inner state, which combined humour, irony, anxiety and loneliness. He depicted existential themes which he himself had experienced; after all, he had witnessed war, death and fear, as well as birth, love and joy. Perhaps because of this duality of the world, of which he was aware, as well as the duality of his own states of mind, he was never able to find peace or his place in the world. During one of his visits to his sister, he confessed: “I don’t fit into this life” (S. Pęcińska, email correspondence dated 25 September 2023). For her part, Nadja Pęcińska recalls her father, the artist, as follows:

“Consistent and 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, inquisitive. An intellectual who often felt misunderstood and never quite at home anywhere, he never fully settled down.” (N. Pęcińska, *Anch’io sono pittore*, 2005)

Krzysztof Pęciński, whilst constantly on the move and in perpetual search , did not seek publicity nor did he care for 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 director Andrzej Różycki, sought to raise Pęciński’s profile , and his intention was to make a documentary film – or rather, a cinematic reflection on the artist – in which he wished to present his works and the artist himself as “the world’s most interesting contemporary painter (…) who, through his entire life, all the paths he has taken so far in his own explorations and his vital creative activity, completely refutes the crisis in painting”. (A. Różycki, film outline from the archive of S. Pęcińska). Unfortunately, this project was never realised .

Krzysztof Pęciński died on 9 June 2003 following a short illness . His family and friends organised a farewell gathering in his studio in Winterthur.

“It was meant to be a celebration of his life, not a funeral, just a moment of reflection and remembrance, but also a continuation of what he enjoyed: a gathering of acquaintances and friends, conversation, music, bigos, red wine and a pleasant time together.” (S. Pęcińska, email correspondence dated 26 September 2023). [fig. 23]

Beneath the painting depicting Tadeusz Różewicz’s poem *In Memory of Konstanty Puzyna* (1989), 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 shall I take with me

to the other shore

nothing

so that’s all, Mum

Yes, son, that’s all

So that’s all

just that

so that’s a whole life

Yes, a whole life.

* * *

In compiling this text, correspondence with Krzysztof Pęciński’s family – Sylvia Pęcińska, Anna Pęcińska, Ursula Keller-Pęcińska and Nadja Pęcińska – proved an invaluable source of information. I would like to express my sincere thanks for all their help and support.

Some of Krzysztof Pęciński’s paintings are kept by the artist’s family, whilst the remaining works are held at the St. Urban Gallery and in the city of Winterthur, which has seven of the artist’s works in its archive.