Tomek Baran / Slawomir Toman / Grzegorz Siembida. Three-dimensional

According to its Latin etymology, artistic abstraction (from the Latin abstractio – to detach) is perceived as “detached” from reality and consequently devoid of mimetic qualities. Paradoxically, however, a unifying feature among the invited artists seems to be a specifically conceived realism, which emerges from a keen observation of the details of the “third plane”—elements that typically escape notice in the hurried pace of daily life.

Tomek Baran, drawing on experiences from geometric abstraction, experiments with unconventional tools and mediums (such as construction materials and industrial paints), engaging in a dialogue with both inspiring elements from public spaces (including graphic design and street tags) and the gallery’s white cube. Sławomir Toman, associated with the traditions of pop art and hyperrealism, transports selected attributes of consumer culture (akin to contemporary vanitas motifs) from shopping malls directly into the art gallery, stripping them of their original context and subjecting them to disorienting enlargements. Grzegorz Siembida, in his organic compositions, draws inspiration from various areas of visual culture (ranging from rock art and folk art to colorism, informalism, and pop art) as well as from his immediate surroundings—the painter’s studio, which serves as a reservoir of forms and textures while also functioning as a personal “living” environment.

By presenting the work of these three artists, the exhibition at the Regional Museum in Stalowa Wola describes three distinct pathways of entering and exiting the realm of abstraction, simultaneously revealing their unexpected intersections, which take the form of a three-dimensional installation within the shared exhibition space.

Artists’ Biographies
Tomek Baran
Born in 1985 in Stalowa Wola, Baran lives and works in Krakow. He graduated in 2010 from the Faculty of Painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow. He debuted at the F.A.I.T. Gallery in 2008 during the “Revaluation of Abstraction” event. His solo exhibitions have taken place at venues such as Bunkier Sztuki, Gallery AS, and Gallery Delikatesy in Krakow, as well as Gallery MDS in Wrocław. He has also participated in numerous group exhibitions in Poland and abroad. In 2010, he undertook a residency in Montrouge, France, and in 2012, he was awarded the international Strabag Artaward and completed a residency in Vienna.

Grzegorz Siembida
Born in 1984 in Nisko, Siembida is a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow (with a degree in Painting under Prof. Andrzej Bednarczyk). Since 2017, he has been a doctoral student at the Faculty of Art at the University of Pedagogy in Krakow. He engages in painting and painted installations. An animator of culture, project coordinator, and co-founder of the gallery Aristoi, he has presented his work in institutions such as the Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art in Warsaw, MOCAK, F.A.I.T. and AS galleries in Krakow, and the Polish Institute in Vienna. He resides and works in Krakow.

Sławomir Toman
Born in 1966, Toman is a painter, educator, and exhibition curator. He studied at the Institute of Artistic Education at UMCS in Lublin (1986-87) under Prof. Mieczysław Herman, at the Faculty of Painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow (1988-93, graduating under Prof. Włodzimierz Kunz), and at the Ecole Regionale des Beaux-Arts in Rennes, France (1995-97, graduating with honors under Prof. Gérard Baldet). In 2003, he was nominated for the “Paszport” award by “Polityka.” He has received scholarships from the Polish Ministry of Culture (2002) and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1995). Since 1997, he has been associated with the Institute of Fine Arts at the Faculty of Arts at UMCS in Lublin. He has exhibited his paintings in both solo and group shows at galleries in Warsaw (including Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art and the National Museum), Poznań (InnerSpaces, Piekary), the Tri-City area (PGS in Sopot, the National Museum in Gdańsk), Krakow (Otwarta Pracownia, Nova), and Lublin (Zachęta, Biała, Labirynt), as well as in many other galleries in Poland and abroad.

Exhibition Details

Curator: Dr. Jakub Woynarowski
Exhibition Coordinator: Elżbieta Skromak
Location: Regional Museum in Stalowa Wola, ul. Sandomierska 1