Jan BERDYSZAK (1934 - 2014), Double Circle II, 1962

oil, canvas; 160 x 80 cm;
Signed and dated p. d.: 1962 / J. BERDYSZAK
On the reverse:
- BWA Arsenal sticker with description of work filled in by hand: BIURO WYSTAW ARTYSTYCZNYCH / Poznañ, Stary Rynek "Arsenał" / Author: JAN BERDYSZAK / Address: POZNAŃ WYBICKIEGO 1 m 15A / Title: PODWÓJNE KOŁO II. / Technique: oil Dimensions: 160 x 80 / cm. / Leg. no.: 1962 / District: / Item 2 - 1831/62 - 5000 - print.
- inscription on the loom: Double Circle II. [?] 1962
- sticker on the loom

Provenance:
private collection, Poland

Condition:
craquelure, cracks in the paint layer

The monumental 1962 oil composition "Double Circle II" is an example of the artist's unique experiments centered around issues of space, the relationship between geometric forms, the illusion of depth and the tension between painting and real space. This museum-grade work is available at auction for the first time.

The artist has juxtaposed two vertically stacked circular forms, partially interpenetrating and inscribed in the narrow vertical format of the canvas. What draws attention is the limited range of dark browns, blacks and grays, giving the work a unique character. Already in his early works, Berdyszak departed from the traditional understanding of a painting as a closed pictorial composition. He was interested in dualism: fullness and emptiness, presence and absence, materiality and potentiality of space. The sticker of the Bureau of Artistic Exhibitions, preserved on the back, has an important documentary and provenance significance. At the time of the object's creation, Poznań's "Arsenal" was among the most important institutions promoting new contemporary art in Poland and was one of the key venues for the presentation of the neo-avant-garde milieu.

The years 1962-1964 are considered the moment of birth of one of the most important early series of the artist - Double Circles. The motif of vertically juxtaposed circular forms appears many times during this period, including in works on paper. During this period, the artist begins to build his own theory of the image as an area of spatial tension, which would result in further artistic explorations in this matter, i.e. compositions with holes, spatial objects or the "Passe-partout" series.

In 1962 Jan Berdyszak was 28 years old and at the threshold of his international artistic career. After studying sculpture at the State Higher School of Fine Arts in Poznan, he developed interests in painting, printmaking, but also theater stage design. He collaborated with the Poznań avant-garde community and the Marcinek Theater and Theater 5. The early 1960s brought mature abstract realizations, thanks to which Berdyszak was recognized as one of the most interesting figures of the young Polish neo-avant-garde.