Marta Kowalewska, PL

The Work of Antoni Starczewski

For Antoni Starczewski (1924–2000), the idea was paramount. His varied interests consistently focused on the idea of the linear inscription. He boldly explored the visual arts, music, and language, expanding their definitions, investigating the possibilities for their interaction. Starczewski treated different artistic disciplines as distinct forms of expression as well as sources of inspiration and experience. He treated art in an interdisciplinary fashion, transferring experiments in one field into others. He was fascinated by the notion of transposing mediums. He sought ways of turning shapes into sound, he made monumental ceramic compositions, as translations of the language of musical forms; he dove deep in the art of textiles to make creative use of its material nature. His textiles pieces are an interesting example of this approach as they feature motifs previously used by Starczewski in his artistic practice. He expressed novel ideas through classical tapestries and the technique of double weave. He cherished noble materials that have been used for ages: wool, silk, and linen. While experimental textile pieces were scoring triumphs in Poland and artists were at the forefront of a revolution in textile art amid great enthusiasm for audacious texturing, Starczewski’s pieces surprise with their conceptual approach and immaculate traditional craftsmanship.

Starczewski built sign systems he called alphabets; linear sequences of gestures sealed in dynamic ceramic forms; sound compositions transposed into visual forms. These were complex compositions also founded on a clear idea, where every component had a precise function. He based all of these projects on ideas which were his gateway to solutions going beyond artistic or aesthetic categories.

In his every field we see clearly that Starczewski’s path was marked only by his own thoughts, that current trends in art were of secondary value to him. Carefully tracking the goings-on in the art of his time, he made sure to remain an individual artist.