Two landscapes

Henryk Waniek is an erudite artist, painter and writer, deeply versed in history, philosophy, spirituality and mystical literature from various cultures. He was born in 1942 in Oświęcim. His father, a painter and graphic artist, was a member of the pre-war Kraków Group. In 1970, Waniek graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków. Even during his studies, he became fascinated by the fantastical and magical dimension of art. He joined the Katowice-based Oneiron group, founded in the 1960s. Its members – including Urszula Broll, Antoni Halor, Zygmunt Stuchlik and Andrzej Urbanowicz – turned to magic and alchemy, as well as Eastern philosophy and religion. Waniek’s work invites reflection. It offers viewers the pleasure of independently tracing allusions and deciphering symbolic messages. The painting *Two Worlds* from the collection of the National Museum in Szczecin is a prime example. From a distance, the image resembles a large eye with a black pupil and a blue-green iris. On closer inspection, it reveals a roulette wheel with numbers and moon phases suspended in space. Around it, a blue sky fades softly into white clouds and a suburban landscape of forests and meadows. It is an idyllic scene overshadowed by uncertainty – a game of chance or fate. Waniek’s paintings reference the long tradition of European art, but also introduce his own visual neologisms – invented symbols and motifs to which he often returns. Marlena Chybowska-Butler