"The Length of a Wave", 29 Sep. - 23 Oct. 2011

Romuald Kutera had his debut in the 1970s, while he was still a student at the State College of Fine Arts in Wroclaw. His works were with the conceptual movement, which was very powerful in Wroclaw at that time.
As time went by, his work began to move away from strictly meta-artistic reflection towards issues relating to the social and cultural position of art. Together with Jan Świdziński, he created contextual art, which was "focused on the happening of things, on reception, on interpretation" (J. Świdziński). His works became open to the social negotiation of the meaning of art - to context.
In the 1980s, the artist's work began to move towards poetic contemplation. As Grzegorz Dziamski observed: "Kutera's work has undergone a distinct evolution - from radical, uncompromising rationalism, a sceptical and analytical attitude to art and a utopian belief in the reforming power of art, to quiet contemplation after coming to terms with the mysteries of nature and the elusive truth of art".
Another step was the artist's creation of Odryka - a mythical goddess - whose birth he describes as follows: "In July 2009, I was walking along a bank of the River Kwisa, when I saw a metal item in the river sand - a very old, rusty arrowhead. When I was washing it, the water glittered in silver. A cloud of that silver rose up and fell down on the bank. Suddenly, it transformed itself into a woman shrouded in a blue cloth". Since that time, he has continued to immortalise his metal-born Odryka using the unique sheet printing technique and the old, photographic daguerreotype method (with a picture being created on a metal plate).
At his exhibition titled "The Length of a Wave" the artist presents works from his different periods - from the 1970s to his latest pieces. The diverse works combine water, light and metal motifs. What is noteworthy is his peculiar perversity in taking up artistic issues - a willingness to turn around concepts and confront antinomies. An empty wall becomes a starting point for a set of works, while art tools, such as photography light or a film camera, become art protagonists. The artist uses film stock as a picture, materialising the product of his imagination and following it with his photographic camera. He engages in constant play with what does and what does not exist, with what can and what cannot be seen and with what is in constant motion and what is still. His activity is situated in a space between imagination, art and reality.