In workshop of Apelles XI

The three photographs W pracowni Apellesa XI, XII, XIII, featured in the collection of the National Museum in Szczecin, are part of Mikołaj Smoczyński's best-known work – The Secret Performance, The title of these works suggests a reference to the tradition of painting depicting the artist's studio and the painting within a painting. Apelles of Colophon was a Greek painter whose works have not survived to the present day, but were described in detail by ancient authors. His paintings and anecdotes from his life inspired many artists, who often drew on events from Apelles' studio, using them as subjects for their works. Smoczyński focused on using monochromatic photography, which he masterfully combined with the activities and installations he created. The process of discovering photography as a medium that enables creating a different, alternate reality started soon after obtaining his degree in painting in 1979. Initially he experimented with actions taking place during the exposure of a photograph. He documented the movement of objects in his studio, followed by the changing spatial situations in an empty studio (floor, dust, light), eventually he started documenting his own works and in situ architectural interventions. He was extremely precise – from the very conception of the idea for the work and arranging the space, all the way to developing his own photographs. For him, the creative process was as important as the result.Mikołaj Smoczyński is one of the most outstanding contemporary Polish artists. His entire oeuvre is a profound reflection on the problem of painting and reality: what is defined as a painting and what can be understood as reality?

Marlena Chybowska-Butler