Paris, Quai Des Celestins 1981

Curator: Włodzimierz Zakrzewski's 1981 oil painting, "Paris, Quai Des Celestins," is our focus here. It's an urban landscape depicting a view of the Seine. Editor: The first thing that strikes me is the painting's almost tactile quality. You can practically feel the impasto of the paint suggesting a very palpable experience of being in a certain place at a certain time. Curator: Absolutely, and thinking about place: we must think of Paris not only as a city, but also the place where many artists and thinkers converged. Looking at the time it was painted—1981—what resonances might we hear by understanding who the artist was and what influences were in the air? It's a Polish artist depicting a very famous French city. Editor: I'm drawn to that push and pull between the tangible reality depicted—the buildings, the water, even the skeletal trees—and the artist’s active hand, shaping the material reality for us, and for themself. I'm looking at the surface itself as evidence of a whole social process, and, for example, how the cost and sourcing of those paints affects the painting’s meaning. Curator: Yes, and to consider Zakrzewski's post-impressionistic technique within that historical context, is essential. Think about how movements across countries and historical periods carry and embed specific cultural, class, gender, and racial undertones—creating not just paintings, but dialogues with modern life. What voices and views were considered "official", which excluded? Whose history are we viewing through Zakrzewski's canvas, and how do we start a decolonization of art history? Editor: Exactly. The application of oil paint, quite literally, coats every available inch with a history of decisions, and material. Each brushstroke is its own labor process: mixing the pigment with oil, layering colors, making the picture-surface. Curator: When viewing such artwork, I ask myself, who decides that the material is something worthy to view, and in what context should we examine that in modern culture. Editor: I would agree. Analyzing "Paris, Quai Des Celestins", thinking about materiality, prompts reflection on artistic processes. Curator: And hopefully also sparks thoughtful conversations.