Krzysztof Urbaniak - Menhir Kerluir

Krzysztof URBANIAK
Year of birth: 1980
Artist painting with words
A break from reality painted with words
My paintings are a theater of imagination – situations transferred to paper or canvas, conversations I had, meetings I explained. The images come to life in a place where many cultures meet: Polish, Alsatian, French, German, and Swiss, and in many languages: Polish, French, German, and English. The title of the painting is in the language in which I think at the moment it appears in my head.
My artistic creation began at the moment I learned to read. Words, quotes, song lyrics, associations related to the past, present, and future, fragments of cabaret performances recited from memory – everything related to the word paints my images. “A word at the beginning” – just as a line starts every drawing and painting. Many of the paintings are inspired by the words of song lyrics.
I am self-taught.
Education
I studied drawing and art history with Professor Joël LEBRA; the passion for art history was transmitted to me by Professor Mariusz Karpowicz, William Kurtyka taught me to look at paintings and encouraged me to pursue artistic work.
Philosophy
Each painting is accompanied by a description and analysis. Each painting begins with words spoken by me, or by my interlocutors. Around them, form, shape, color, line thickness, etc., are built. The lines on the paintings connect in a loop, allowing one to get lost while viewing the image and enabling analysis after reading the text, which is an integral part of it.
Often, music is associated with the images, which I invite you to listen to while looking at the painting.
Reading and speaking are natural activities. It is also natural to break with reality, which I enable for those looking at my paintings. The stories told in the paintings are true – REALITY PROVIDES MORE EMOTIONS THAN FICTION. Sometimes improbable. The person looking at my paintings has the opportunity to get lost and to find themselves again. The person reading the painting’s description has the opportunity to find themselves while looking, to lose themselves and to rediscover.
Technique
Acrylic on canvas, acrylic on paper, ink on paper, collage, mixed media.
Influences
I am inspired by words spoken by people, words written, translated and untranslatable, images, sculptures, and buildings created by people, including among others Dadaists, Dariusz Orwat, the Bauhaus movement, Anni Albers, Le Corbusier, Jean Tinguely, Hans Arp, Niki de Saint Phalle.
Past exhibitions
March 2024. Painting exhibition at Domaine du Hirtz, Wattwiller, France.
May 2025. Exhibition at the City Hall of Pfastatt, France.
June 2025. Exhibition during the charity event “Two Hearts,” Strasbourg, France.
July and August 2026. Poland (Polanica-Zdrój) France (Mulhouse). Many locations, including Pieniawskie Gardens and Art Café in Polanica-Zdrój, Mediateka in Pfastatt, and Le Coin des Delices restaurant in Moosch.
September 2026. Exhibition Regards croisés (Intersecting Visions) at Saint-Etienne chapel, Mulhouse, France.
ARTISTIC CONCEPT
I paint pictures with words; the image’s form, shape, and colors are planned before painting. This stems from the impossibility of making corrections while painting. The concept of the paintings is based on a line that forms a loop. The line does not intersect itself anywhere. I chose the loop because it symbolizes the repetitiveness of cycles in nature, of which I am a part. Cyclicity is inherent in humans. The number of words available in each language is limited; we use about 1,500–2,000 words for free communication, with words and letters repeating cyclically, but each time in a different context.