caziel: in search of a new reality

IN SEARCH OF A NEW REALITY

Abstract works 1948–1955

22nd May – 22nd June 2012

6 DUKE STREET ST. JAMES’S LONDON SW1Y 6BNTEL. +44 (0)20 7930 9332 EMAIL [email protected]

WHITFORDF I N E A R T

All Works are for Sale

Above: Caziel (Kazimierz Jozef Zielenkiewicz 1906–1988), 1951Front cover: Abstract Composition, c.1951 (cat. no. 34)

Caziel, my grandfather, had an analogy to describe his belief in abstraction, drawing a parallel

between art and music in general, and to Arthur Honegger’s Pacific 231 (1924) in particular. Should

one listen to this incredible piece of music and feel a spontaneous rush of emotion, then that

intangible, sensual reaction is the key to Abstraction. On the other hand, if the listener was

informed that the piece describes a train arriving at a station, then the music loses its ineffable

gravitas, ceases to be abstract, and consequent listenings will be marred by the concrete

description. In actual fact, Honegger had not written this piece to mimic a train; instead he carefully

constructed the rhythms and timbres in a way which intentionally evoked a certain reaction in the

audience. In much the same way, Caziel worked like an alchemist combining colours and shapes

in exactly the desired amounts, in order to create a response to the essence of being; his works do

not defy description but to look for tangible meaning is to deny them of their utilitarian purpose.

Caziel believed in the healing power of the visual arts, his thoughtful combinations of colour and

form aim to nourish the soul just as food nourishes the body.

Works from this period, 1948-1955, represent Caziel's departure from figuratively informed

Cubism, and the start of his search for a new abstract language. Having met Picasso in 1948, they

shared a studio in Paris for the following five years. Over this period Caziel exhibited alongside

Vasarely, Manessier and Hartung at the Salon de Mai, annually submitting works which show

reverence for the early cubist innovations of Braque and Picasso through which he arrived at his

own personal brand of abstraction.

This exhibition brings together some of the most important and inspiring works from Caziel's early

Abstract period, from a time when he was at the centre of the Post-War Parisian art scene. In

search of a new dimension, his art transcends the natural stimulus of figuration, bringing to life an

unseen world punctuated by nuances in colour, texture and form, yet always humanistic in

intention. These works represent the start of Caziel's journey into abstraction, a route which he

would follow with inexhaustible passion for the rest of his life.

Max Stiegler, May 2012

CAZIEL: In Search of a New Reality

Abstract works from 1948–1955

1. Composition 8. June 1955

Oil on canvas41 x 27 cm

LITERATURE: MONKIEWICZ, Dorota. Caziel 1906-1988,Catalogue Raisonné. National Museum, Warsaw, 1998,cat. rais. no.316, p.55.

2. Composition 09.51 1951

Oil on board laid on panel71.5 x 51 cm

EXHIBITED: 2008, Caziel: "Je Suis Abstrait"- Works from the Fifties, Whitford Fine Art,London.

LITERATURE: MONKIEWICZ, Dorota. Caziel 1906-1988, Catalogue Raisonné. NationalMuseum, Warsaw, 1998, cat. rais. no.266, p.53; Caziel: 'Je Suis Abstrait' - Works from theFifties, Whitford Fine Art, London, 2008, exhibition catalogue with introduction by An JoFermon, cat. no.17, ill.

3. Abstract Composition c.1950

Charcoal48 x 63 cm

4. Composition in Blue and Black 1949


LITERATURE: MONKIEWICZ, Dorota. Caziel 1906-1988, Catalogue Raisonné. National Museum, Warsaw,1998, cat. rais. no.224, p.52

6. Composition “Cobra” c.1948


LITERATURE: MONKIEWICZ, Dorota. Caziel 1906-1988, Catalogue Raisonné. NationalMuseum, Warsaw, 1998, cat. rais. no.164, p.51.



EXHIBITED: 1997, CAZIEL: Works from the Fifties, Whitford Fine Art, London.

LITERATURE: MONKIEWICZ, Dorota. Caziel 1906-1988, Catalogue Raisonné.National Museum, Warsaw, 1998, cat. rais. no.153, p.50; CAZIEL: Works from theFifties, exhibition catalogue, Whitford Fine Art, London, 1997, cat. no.16, ill.

7. Architectonic Composition 1951

Oil on artist’s board40 x 32 cm

LITERATURE: MONKIEWICZ, Dorota. Caziel 1906-1988, Catalogue Raisonné. National Museum,Warsaw, 1998, cat. rais. no.270, p.53.

8. Composition 4.06.1955 1955


EXHIBITED: 1998, Caziel 1906-1988, Retrospective, National Museum, Warsaw.

LITERATURE: MONKIEWICZ, Dorota. Caziel 1906-1988, Catalogue Raisonné. National Museum,Warsaw, 1998, cat. rais. no.315, p.55, ill. pl.44.

9. Composition 51 1951

Charcoal48 x 63.3 cm

10. Oval Composition 1949

Oil on canvas58 x 71.3 cm

LITERATURE: MONKIEWICZ, Dorota. Caziel 1906-1988, Catalogue Raisonné. National Museum, Warsaw,1998, cat. rais. no.184, p.51.

11. Abstract Composition 1949

Charcoal48 x 28.5 cm

12. Composition with Moon 1951




13. Composition 54.XI 1954

Gouache48.5 x 62.5 cm

14. Composition no.30 1948



15. Architectonic Composition 1949

Gouache and pencil48 x 62 cm



LITERATURE: MONKIEWICZ, Dorota. Caziel1906-1988, Catalogue Raisonné. NationalMuseum, Warsaw, 1998, cat. rais. no.170, p.51.

17. Architectonic Composition c.1952-3


EXHIBITED add ‘2008, Caziel: "Je Suis Abstrait"- Works from the Fifties, Whitford Fine Art, London.’

LITERATURE: MONKIEWICZ, Dorota. Caziel 1906-1988, Catalogue Raisonné. National Museum,Warsaw, 1998, cat. rais. no.299,p.54.; Caziel: 'Je Suis Abstrait' - Works from the Fifties, WhitfordFine Art, London, 2008, exhibition catalogue with introduction by An Jo Fermon, ill. cat. no. 32.

18. Composition May 50 1950

Charcoal and chalk48 x 31 cm



EXHIBITED: 1997, CAZIEL: Works from the Fifties, Whitford Fine Art, London.

LITERATURE: CAZIEL: Works from the Fifties, exhibition catalogue, Whitford Fine Art, London, 1997, cat.no.48, ill.

20. Architectonic Composition c.1949

Gouache48 x 63 cm

21. Composition “Cobra” 1950


LITERATURE: MONKIEWICZ, Dorota. Caziel 1906-1988, Catalogue Raisonné. National Museum, Warsaw, 1998,cat. rais. no.237, p.53.

22. Composition 50 1950

Charcoal31 x 48 cm

23. Composition 51.IX 1951

Gouache48 x 62.5 cm

24. Geometric Composition c.1951

Oil on artist’s board40.5 x 20 cm

27. Composition no.3 1952



LITERATURE: MONKIEWICZ, Dorota. Caziel 1906-1988, Catalogue Raisonné. National Museum,Warsaw, 1998, cat. rais. no.293, p.54, ill. pl. 38.

28. Composition c.1955

Oil on panel43 x 23 cm

LITERATURE: MONKIEWICZ, Dorota. Caziel 1906-1988,Catalogue Raisonné. National Museum, Warsaw, 1998,cat. rais. no.326, p.55.




LITERATURE: MONKIEWICZ, Dorota. Caziel 1906-1988, Catalogue Raisonné. National Museum, Warsaw,1998, cat. rais. no.183, p.51, ill. pl.36.


Gouache and charcoal48 x 62 cm




LITERATURE: J. PERRY, The Grand Play of Light. The Art & Life of Caziel, AMPublications, London, 1997,ill. pl.40; MONKIEWICZ, Dorota. Caziel 1906-1988, CatalogueRaisonné. National Museum, Warsaw, 1998, cat. rais. no.260, p.53, ill. pl.37.


Oil on canvas23 x 39.5 cm



LITERATURE: MONKIEWICZ, Dorota. Caziel 1906-1988, Catalogue Raisonné.National Museum, Warsaw, 1998, cat. rais. no.134, p.50.


Oil on hardboard50 x 61 cm

LITERATURE: MONKIEWICZ, Dorota. Caziel 1906-1988, Catalogue Raisonné. National Museum, Warsaw, 1998,cat. rais no.285, p.54.


Oil on canvas46.5 x 38 cm

37. Composition no.21 c.1950

Oil on artist’s board26 x 31 cm


Gouache47.5 x 60.5 cm


Coloured chalks65 x 33.5 cm

1 Composition 8 June2 Composition 09.513 Abstract Composition4 Composition in Blue and Black5 Composition "Cobra"6 Composition "Cobra"7 Architectonic Composition8 Composition 4.06.19559 Composition 5110 Oval Composition11 Abstract Composition12 Composition with Moon13 Composition 54.XI14 Composition no.3015 Architectonic Composition16 Abstract Composition17 Architectonic Composition18 Composition May 5019 Abstract Composition20 Architectonic Composition21 Composition "Cobra"22 Composition 5023 Composition 51.IX24 Geometric Composition25 Composition "Cobra"26 Composition "Cobra"27 Composition no.328 Composition29 Abstract Composition30 Architectonic Composition31 Architectonic Composition32 Abstract Composition33 Geometric Composition34 Abstract Composition35 Geometric Composition36 Abstract Composition37 Composition no.2138 Abstract Composition39 Geometric Composition

WORKS

All works come from the Estate of Caziel and aresigned or have the Studio stamp

CHRONOLOGY & EXHIBITIONS

1906 Born in Sosnowiec, Poland, on 16th June

1931-36 Studied painting in Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts

1932 Exhibited at Loza Wolnomalarska (Lodge of Free Painters)

1937 Won a State scholarship to Italy and Paris

1939 Volunteered for the Polish Army in France

1946 Settled in France, Aix-en-Provence, later moved to Paris

Designed the Polish Pavilion for UNESCO International Exhibition of Modern Art

1947 Held one-man show at the Galerie Allard, Paris

1948 Met Picasso with whom he developed a long standing friendship

1948-56 Exhibited at the Salon de Mai in Paris

1951 The Musée National d’Art Moderne purchased one of his monumental canvas works

1953 The Vatican commissioned four large paintings for their Museum of Modern Religious Art

Designed frescoes for French architect Jean Ginsberg

1957 Married the Scottish painter Catherine Sinclair

1963 Exterior design for the Atomic Energy Commission at Tollemache House, Thurso

1966 First one-man in London, hosted by the Grabowski Gallery

Second one-man show at the Grabowski Gallery, London

1966-68 Exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts, London

1968 Second one-man show at the Grabowski Gallery, London

1969 Left France to settle in Somerset, England

1978 Exhibited at the National Museum, Warsaw – Circle of Tadeusz Pruszkowski

1983 Exhibited works on paper at the Summer Exhibition at Fair Maids House Gallery, Perth

1988 Died in Somerset

1990 Memorial Exhibition at the Polish Cultural Institute, London

1991 Exhibition at the Butlin Gallery, Dillington House College, Ilminster, Somerset

1992 Exhibition of works from 1945 – 1988 at the Royal West of England Academy, Bristol

1995 Exhibition Caziel (1906-1988): Substance and Light, Whitford Fine Art, London

1997 Exhibition Caziel: Drawings from the Fourties, Whitford Fine Art, London

Exhibition Caziel: Works from the Fifties, Whitford Fine Art, London

1998 Retrospective Exhibition at the National Museum, Warsaw

2001 Exhibition Contour and Line: Selection of Works on Paper from 1965 by Caziel,

Whitford Fine Art, London

2004 Exhibition Caziel: Abstraction: 1963 – 1967, Whitford Fine Art, London

Retrospective Exhibition at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland, London

2006 Centenary Retrospective Exhibition, Whitford Fine Art, London

2008 Exhibition “Je Suis Abstrait” – Works from the Fifties, Whitford Fine Art, London

2010 Exhibition Drawings and Watercolours 1935 – 1952, Whitford Fine Art, London

caziel: in search of a new reality

Documents

period caziel

inspiring works

works donot

r tall works

je suis abstrait works

je suis abstrait works

whitford fine art

parallelbetween art