Krzysztof Kuliś - Between...

A paraphrase of the popular phrase, “art is not enough,” is the shortest way to describe Krzysztof Kuliś. I have known Krzysztof Kuliś for 20 years. We have been meeting in various situations and circumstances. These encounters seem like a stop motion film and this is how I am going to try to write about Krzysztof.

Action is the word which defines Krzysztof Kuliś: the Director of the BWA Art Exhibition Bureau in Nowy Sącz, Poland, the Chairman of the Association of Polish Artists and Designers, the Chairman and founder of the Association of Polish Pastellists, competition judge and curator of exhibitions, painter, organiser of plein air painting events, an art critic. He had an idea for the National Pastel Biennale and the implementation of it put Nowy Sącz on the map as an art destination. From a national event, the Pastel Biennale soon went international, recognized and significant for art in general - not only ours, but also world art. The proof? The works in the thousands that are submitted to the competition.  The name of Nowy Sącz has become inseparably linked with pastel, thanks to Krzysztof and his team at the Art Exhibition Bureau. A technique that is widely considered unstable and of lesser value, becomes rediscovered and gains great acclaim among art connoisseurs, viewers and creators from around the world. The town of Nowy Sącz owes a great deal to Krzysztof, as perhaps so do even slightly wider circles. . .?

Also in art, he does not tolerate inactivity. How to write about a visual artist who is the equivalent of a multi-instrumentalist in music? One who does not remain indifferent towards almost any technique? Krzysztof is a dynamic artist. His drawing line – excellent! His drawing is somewhat nonchalant, but at the same time, precise. This great line with which Krzysztof draws, dominates in his pastels and oil paintings. Colour, a spot of colour, consists of many dots, intermingling lines, and it is they that decide what the final colour will be. However, it is the line that forms the foundation, and it constructs the painting. Expression is always present in His life and creative output. Even a banal theme, when picked up by Krzysztof and painted on canvas or paper, becomes an interesting painting, exuding energetic vigour. Pastel served this spontaneity well, as a technique which allows quick recording of emotions, capturing with colour the time of day and the light as it was then. This is a technique that Krzysztof crowned, so to speak. In art, he appreciatively uses various techniques. For me, his watercolours were a discovery, and I could not omit them writing about Krzysztof and his artistic work. This is where I encountered Kuliś the subtle, the understated, or even the restrained, keeping in check his emotions.  Those delicate landscapes, travel notes, are filled with pleasant atmosphere, sublime colour and refined detail. Such, one could say, a little bit not Kuliś the painter.  At other times, he is a stage designer … His stage sets and costumes which, for the most part, have been realized, delight with their style and with relevance, they are what gives depth to the characters and the plays. They are not merely a dry realization of the state direction. These projects emanate vitality, they are an affirmation of life, of joy drawn from literature, a visible love of theatre. They are also great paintings on their own, existing separately, independently of their being stage design projects. And, as it is with Krzysztof, a dynamic line, saturated, deep colour, here also the tool – the pastel, dictates the style and the expression of the painting, of the project.

Krzysztof Kuliś, a man who cannot remain idle. At home – he has a small gallery of works by his artistic colleagues, his friends. A journey through sophisticated vibes. Through these paintings and stories, we get to know Krzysztof, the man, an extraordinarily interesting storyteller and, importantly, a writer on the subject of artists. His reviews are refined, elegant, inquisitive, apposite. His texts in catalogues are short stories, always referring to the protagonist with respect and esteem. Anyone who has a text written by Kuliś in their catalogue is lucky. It is a pleasure to watch Krzysztof as he sits with friends with a glass of his favourite whisky, talking, making plans, discussing new ideas. Always with a twinkle in his eye. Krzysztof Kuliś's oeuvre is not run-of-the-mill; a multitude of techniques intertwine in his works, each becoming enriched with a new component.

I invite you to view the works at this exhibition, and then in the catalogue, to preserve the impressions and emotions produced by experiencing the art that Kuliś gives us. Krzysztof Kuliś is a mark of the highest quality.

Bernadetta Stępień

Chairwoman of the Association of Polish Pastellists