Marcin Białas was born in 1977 in Zawiercie. He graduated from Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice – a diploma, for which he was awarded a medal, was carried out in copper-plate printing studio of prof. Jan Szmatloch in 2004. Since then he works in the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice. In 2011, Białas received the title of Doctor of Arts. He works on drawing and printmaking (intaglio). Since 2003, Białas has actively participated in graphics festivals in Poland and abroad. He has made a number of individual graphics presentation in Poland (Katowice, Warsaw, Bialystok, Chorzów, Gliwice, Zywiec, Kielce, Sosnowiec) and in Canada (Trois-Rivierčs), Romania (Ploiesti), Germany (Berlin), Ireland (Dublin), Belarus (Minsk).

SCHOLARSHIPS:

  • 2005, Canada, The Elizabeth Greenshields Fundation Scholarship
  • 2006, Warsaw, Poland , Tadeusz Kulisiewicz Fundation Scholarship
  • 2007, Katowice, Poland, Scholarship of the Marshal of Silesian Province
  • 2007 / 2010, Warsaw, Poland, Scholarship from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage
  • 2012, Warszawa, scholarship program “Young Poland”

 SELECTED AWARDS:

  • VIII International Biennial of Graphic, Ourense, Spain, Distinction, 2004
  • Andriolli Nationwide Contest for drawing Nałęczów,Poland, Equivalent Award 2004
  • International Biennial of Graphic „Iosif Iser”, Ploiesti, Romania, Statutory Award, 2005
  • V International Biennial of Graphic, Kair, Egypt, Equivalent award, 2006
  • V International Triennial of Graphic, Bitola, Macedonia, Grand Prix, 2006
  • III International Contest Na Ex libris „Toward Freedom”, Lomazzo, Italy, the Second Prize, 2006
  • V International Biennial of Graphic, Trois-Rivierčs, Canada, Endowed Award, 2007
  • X International Biennial of Graphic, Ourense, Spain, Distinction, 2008
  • I International Biennial of Graphic, Istanbul, Turkey, Special Prize of the Turkish Cultural Foundation, 2008
  • XV International Biennial of Graphic, Varna, Bulgaria, Equivalent Award, 2009
  • Young Polish Grahics, Krakow, Poland, The prize of Artfino portal, 2009
  • I International Biennial of Eastern Art Salon, Lublin, Poland, Award of the President of ZPAP, 2009
  • XV International Biennial of Graphic „Space Biennal”, Seul, South Korea, Endowed Award, 2009
  • XIV International Biennial of Graphic, Taiwan, China, Distinction, 2010
  • International Biennial of Graphic „Iosif Iser”, Ploiesti, Romania, Statutory Award, 2011
  • XI International Biennial of Graphic, Acqui Terme, Italy, Award, 2011
  • X International Biennial of Graphic, Bharat Bhavan, India, Distinction, 2011
  • XI International Biennial of Graphic „José de Ribera”, Xativa, Spain, Honorable Distinction, 2011
  • II Tadeusz Kulisiewicz International Triennial of Graphic IMPRINT, Royal Castle, Warsaw, Poland, Mariusz Kazana’s Foundation Award, 2011
  • International Exhibition of Graphics „IMPRIMA 2012”, Ceara, Brazil, Honorable Distinction, 2012
  • XVII International Triennial of Graphic, Frechen, Germany, the Third prize, 2014
  • IV Biennial of Echtings, Valladolid, Spain, the Second Prize, 2014

 COLLECTIVE EXHIBITIONS (selection):

  • V Triennial of Polish Graphic, Katowice, Poland, 2003
  • XI International Biennial of Graphic, Sarcelles, France, 2003
  • Identitets Afspejling – Polsk Kunst 2004, Kolding, Danemark, 2004
  • VIII International Biennial of Graphic, Ourense, Spain, 2004
  • Andriolli Nationwide Contest for the drawing, Nałęczów, Poland, 2004
  • XII International Triennial of Small Graphic Forms, Łódź, Poland, 2005
  • XIII International Biennial of Graphic, Varna, Bulgaria, 2005
  • VIII International Biennial of Graphic „José de Ribera”, Xativa, Spain, 2005
  • V International Biennial of Drawing, Pilzno, Czech Republic; Chicago, Birmingham, USA; Schonsee, Regensburg, Germany, 2006
  • IV International Triennial of Small Graphic Forms, Vancouver, Canada, 2006
  • XII International Biennial of Drawing and Graphic, Tajpej, Taiwan, 2006
  • II International Competition of Graphic, Besiktas, Stanbul, Turkey, 2006
  • XIV Triennial of Graphic in Tallin, Estonia, 2007
  • V International Triennial of Graphic, Prague, Czech Republic 2007
  • V International Biennial of Graphic, Trois-Rivierčs, Canada 2007
  • VII International Exhibition of Graphics, Kochi, Japan 2007
  • II International Triennial of Graphic and Drawing, Bangkok, Tailand 2008
  • IMPRINT 2008 – 1 International Triennial of Graphic Arts, Warsaw, Poland 2008
  • III International Graphic Competition, Stanbul, Turkey 2008
  • Celebrating Exhibition of RAMSAR Conference 2008, Gyeongnam Art Museum, Seul, South Korea 2008
  • New Prints – 2009 / Winter, IPCNY, New York, USA, 2009
  • XV International Biennial of Graphic „Space Biennal”, Seul, South Korea 2009
  • I International Biennial – Eastern Art. Salon, Lublin, Poland 2009
  • II International Biennial of Graphic GUANLAN, Guanlan, China 2009
  • XV International Biennial of Graphic, Varna, Bulgaria 2009
  • XIV Exhibition of Prints and Drawings, Taipei, Taiwan 2010
  • Exhibition in the Department of Fine Arts in Katowice, Galleries Alfred Merkelbach, Dusseldorf, Germany 2010
  • Jan Szmatloch and students, Gallery of the National Academy of Fine Arts, Minsk, Belarus 2010
  • X International Biennial of Graphic, Acqui Terme, Italy, 2011
  • X International Biennial of Graphic Arts, Bharat Bhavan, India, 2011
  • XVI International Exhibition of Graphic, Frechen, Germany, 2011
  • International Biennial of Graphic „Parker Harrison”, Hatton Gallery, Great Britain, 2011
  • V Biennial of Graphic, Musée de Saint-Maur, Villa Médicis, France, 2011
  • Global Matrix III – Purdue University Galleries, Lafayette, IN, USA, 2012
  • Exhibiotion of Graphic of ASP Katowice, Tama Art University, Tokio, Japan, 2012
  • Carmen Arozena XL Edition of the International Exhibition, Madrid, Spain, 2012
  • VI International Biennial of Graphic, Douro, Portugal, 2012
  • „TRANSGRAPHICS” Polish Artists- the collection of Mariusz Kazana Foundation, Art Museum– Guangdong, Kanton, China, 2013
  • Transition, Lipsk, Niemcy, 2013

 

 

"„no flower, no step, where is the man?”
in the move of rocks,
in the trail of rake,
in the work of letters

In these poetic words, Roland Barthes expressed his admiration over the abso- lute rule of signifiant of the Japanese Zen garden. While writing his Empire of Signs he was truly enchanted by the wonderful disinterestedness of meanings which composed those spaces. Searching for such places – deprived of the entire ideological superstructure due to their original functions and just on the ground of disinterestedness, revealing the potential of interrelation, is what Marcin does. He resigns from the exotic trips in favour of exploring the neighbourhood which seems to be the most touchable reality, a well-known area, a cosy unit. It often turns out how deceptive such a viewpoint is. It was curiosity, motivating to solitary peregrination in order to find his own genius loci, which led him gradually from illustrativeness to more and more careful studies which often hide the phenomenon under the visual surface. The dark projections of fantastic narrations of the initial works paved the way to strict arrangement and precision. The space – still rooted in a specific reality – underwent the process of fragmentation and then vivisection of the fragments, and it finally became an autonomous organism with its own, diverse morphology of paths, spirals of stairs without the beginning and the end, tunnels, entrances, exits and innumerable floors – all disappearing in darkness. We can see the wholeness through the fragment, as the author wants us to look, and we float gently above the pavements. But Marcin hides the tracks very skillfully, so that we cannot find anything conducive to identify the places. Unusually suggestive and sensual matter dismisses the question about any exact address, making the places even more specific. We are excused from the duty of “naming” and that is why an excavation remains in close connection with a basement corridor and a staircase is related to Dante’s inferno. I have an impression that the balance of narration is what makes Marcin’s works a very open picture, without the burden of intrusive monosemanticism. It is more like a record than a story, a kind of discontinuous utterance, an art of fragment which does not squander its semantic potential among the virtuoso demonstration of the artistry. And there is also restraint, which intensifies the mystery, widening and deepening the space of those repeatedly bitten works."

Grzegorz Hańderek

Grzegorz Hańderek. Born in 1977 in Zabrze. He graduated from the Art Institute of the University of Silesia (a branch in Cieszyn) 2002 and the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice, receiving his diploma at the Intaglio Printing Studio of Professor Jan Szmatloch in 2003. In 2005 obtained the Doctor of Arts degree; Since 2004 he works at the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice as Associate Professor. Since 2008 he is a Dean of the Faculty of Arts.