Piotr Janas

In our Upper Galleries, the ICA presents the first London solo exhibition by Warsaw-based artist Piotr Janas. Janas presents amoebic forms recalling organs, bodily fluids and various body parts that contrast with hard-edged machine-like mechanisms that seemingly puncture and wound. Fleshy pinks and reds associated with living organisms are juxtaposed with violent brushstrokes.

Each painting evokes the actions of scratching, pulling and prodding, creating a sense of depth as one representational element penetrates another. Organic forms taper into talons as they scrape against the walls of their own interior. Mixing the imagery of Constructivism, Francis Bacon and Paul Thek, these dark invocations are ultimately indebted to the language of surrealism.

Piotr Janas was born in 1970. He has had solo gallery exhibitions at Foksal Gallery Foundation (2003 and 2009), Nicolas Krupp, Basel (2009), Bortolomi, New York (2007) and the Jack Hanley Gallery (2005). In 2010, Janas was included in the project Villa Reykjavik, Reykjavik as part of Foksal Gallery Foundation’s exhibition.

In 2006, Janas participated in the group show Infinite Painting: Contemporary Painting and Global Realism, curated by Francesco Bonami at the Villa Manin Centro d’Arte Contemporanea, as well as Polish Painting of the 21st Century at the National Gallery of Art in Warsaw and the 50th International Venice Biennale in 2003. Janas lives and works in Warsaw.

With thanks to the Polish Cultural Institute London and Foksal Gallery Foundation

Please note: we will be temporarily closed for the Olympics Monday 23 July - Friday 17 August, reopening Saturday 18 August.