First impression – you can see the space on the paintings because it is filled with geometric objects. It is like with Jaspers’ theory of consciousness – consciousness has no attributes, takes over features from objects that are the substance of consciousness.
On paintings of Witold Popiel objects are the substance of space. But these material objects tend to turn in signs. Some of the signs are hidden, other are evident, some of them hide behind solid figures or other signs and have third dimension but they are still confined in the plane of the paintings. There are a few Popiel’s paintings, where these signs become a relief.
Even bodies frozen like blocks of marble in hieratic gestures become meaningful signs, in their particular way. The sight of observer tries to reduce the blocks to abstractive surface, but they don’t give up, and thus the struggle of opposing energies, this lack of definition, may trigger intellectual and energetic experience.
It also gives the impression of architecture. The paintings reveal fantasies and dreams of an architect, seem to bring into being architectural ballet. Thanks to these fantasies, confined urban consciousness regains at least some freedom, essential to everyone. In these paintings still feels the pressure of a big city, even in floral motifs. On a few dream-like paintings, reminding of Alfred Kubin, there are solid figures of a city pushed out by subconsciousness and pushed in creatures of half-animals and half-humans. Solid figures on these paintings apparently represent and illustrate the sphere of emotions – in opposition to logical and rational space.
Geometric blocks are different from blocks marked by their edges and blocks of human and animal bodies. Remarkably, they all assume the meaning of sign and use intellectual language, but also affect our emotions and then flat signs get their third dimension. Thus, when watched carefully, the paintings reveal their inner commotion – from the surface to the core of the painting and the other time – from the depth of blocks to the surface.
It may suggest that the paintings are a skin or membrane – and they are meant to separate or... join. Arnold Toynbee said that there is a difference between two aspects of the truth that imperfect Human Mind cannot integrate. Human psyche has two organs: consciousness, which is a rational surface and subconsciousness – depth far beyond our control. They both reveal a part of the Reality and, regardless imperfection of their recognition, call their revelations the Truth.
Popiel’s paintings seem to be emotionally cold. The coldest is silver, the warmest – gold. Dominating colours in most of Popiel’s paintings are: silver, white, blue, cold green, violet. Gold, warm green, yellow, orange, red and brown get at those big areas of cold colours and underline the silver palette, make silver vibrate in full swing. Mind stirred up by those silver vibrations ascends to the state where an abstractive thought affects our emotions and comes up to the temperature reached by mystic philosophers which saw the nature in God and God in the nature (e.g. Spinoza).
Some paintings seem to be stopped in a cosmic action of the nature or God – like cyclist with his rational bike falling apart, king from a playing card, women befriended with flora.
Some paintings show something like convertible panels of space ships. They seem to receive energy or maybe transmit signals, or both at the same time. We can find similar symbolically displayed surface of plants, hills, water and sky.
There were theoreticians of art who claimed that figurative painting is not realistic any more, because nuclear radiation is invisible. And we are still attached to so called realism, because we want to know where we are and what’s going on. And first of all, we want to be safe. That is why we don’t get on without realism in our life. I do call back this, one might think, long forgotten category – realism – but in case of Popiel’s paintings I mean realism which is even on a higher level than psychology, when physical realism is a way down.
We better step back for another general view, after so meticulous analyse of details, bearing in mind our first impression. We can find symbolic space, tension of meaningful blocks, domination of moon-silver, intellectual palette, underlined by the presence of gold. Also panel forms and emphasis in displaying surface. It is like a waiting for something or somebody, waiting long and tense, like a prayer.
Jarosław Markiewicz
Witold Popiel, "The Way of the Artist", author: Max Kluge
"Paintings of Witold Popiel ", author: Jarosław Markiewicz