MITCH + CO Gallery presents:
MATEUSZ PIESTRAK

Best known for blurring the line between abstraction and representation, his paintings are a record of discussion on the potential of the painting to a culture dominated by new media. The main theme is “discovering” the image. In Piestrak’s paintings, the modern world makes a conversation with tradition. He paraphrases fragments of artworks by the old masters, well known from the tradition of painting. The artist chooses motives according to the non-obvious key, drawing inspiration alternately from everyday life, the tradition of painting and sculpture, achievements of contemporary artists, or juggling quotes taken from photographs. Piestrak doesn’t begin his work from thinking in terms of narration – he rather strives for this construction to appear at the audience, letting the images stimulate the viewer’s memory and make them start building the story themselves. The artist drifts through his own epoch, turning the source of inspiration into fiction. By multiplying parallel perspectives, the narration in his works is always multidimensional, fragmentary, foggy and depends strongly on the individual experience.

BIO 
Mateuz Piestrak was born in 1991, Poland. Graduated from University of Arts in Poznan, Poland in the Faculty of Painting under the supervision of Professor Włodzimierz Dudkowiak in 2016. The same year he was nominated to 36th edition of the Maria Dokowicz Competition – The Best Diplomas in Art 2016 (Poznan International Fair) during which he won the Grand Prix in the category of Artistic Diploma and Special Prize of the Bank PKO SA. In 2016 he get Artistic Award in the National Painting Competition New Image/New View and he was finalist of Hestia Artistic Journey Competition (2014, 2016). He lives and works in Poznan where he continues his Phd. in painting. Since 2016 he collaborates with Assembly Gallery.

Selected exhibitions (solo and group):
2017 – Non-places, Berlin Gallery Weekend, Neukölln, Allerstrasse 15, Berlin
2017 – Now when I build, I shall begin with the smoke from the chimney, The Curators’LAB Gallery, Municipal Galleries of the University of the Arts in Poznan, Poland
2017 – MITCH + CO Gallery at SCOPE New York
2017 – Stream not found, Assembly Gallery Poznan, Poland
2016 – The Next Day, Assembly Gallery, Poznan, Poland
2016 – Can you imagine a luminous ruin?, Assembly Gallery, Poznan, Poland
2016 – BERLINER LISTE 2016, Fair for Contemporary Art, Berlin, Germany
2016 – OSTRALE, error: X, 10. International Exhibition of Contemporary Arts, Dresden, Germany
2016 – International Contemporary Art Fair ARTVILNIUS’16, Vilnius, Lithuania 2016 – The 36th edition of the Maria Dokowicz Competition – Best Diplomas UAP
2016, International Art Fair, Poznan, Poland
2016 – New Picture/New View – Finalists Exhibition, Poznan and Gorzow Wielkopolski, Poland
2016 – Hestia Artistic Journey Competition – Finalists Exhibition in Museum of Modern Art (MSN), Warsaw, Poland
2015 – Border, Nowa Gallery in Poznan, Poland
2016 – Temporary Autonomous Zone, Mona Inner Spaces, Poznan, Poland
2015 – Fallout Skies / Bad Weather, FLOW, MONA Inner Spaces, Poznan, Poland 2014 – Non-place, Fama, Swinoujscie, Poland
2014 – Liquidity of image FF Gallery, Łódź, Poland
2014 – The images of the real world, Ptapty, Poznan, Poland
2014 – Out, Art Pavilion Ergo Hestia, Warsaw, Poland.
2014 – The Competition Hestia Artistic Journey – Finalists Exhibition, Dom Towarowy Bracia Jabłkowscy, Warsaw, Poland
2013 – Woody Wood ago, Collegiate Art, Poznan, Poland 2013 – Recognition, Place of Art 44, Swinoujscie, Poland 2013 – Kontakte, Villa Zanders, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany 2013 – Areas Figure, Gallery Jesuit, Poznan, Poland
2010 – Phototeque, ShowOff, Month of Photography in Krakow, Poland

Selected awards and achievements:
2016 – Grand Prix in the category of Artistic Diploma – the 36th edition of the Maria Dokowicz Competition – The Best Diplomas in Art 2016 (Poznan International Fair)
2016 – Special Prize of the Bank PKO SA – the 36th edition of the Maria
Dokowicz Competition – The Best Diplomas in Art 2016 (Poznan International Fair)
2016 – Main Award in the Competition New Image / New View 2014, 2016 – Finalist of the Hestia Artistic Journey Competition

About MICH + CO:
Established in 2016, MITCH + CO originated from a shared passion for art and a entrepreneurial vision. After a serendipitous meeting in 2015 at an art fair, an artist and a luxury hospitality professional found themselves in the midst of a long-time dream becoming a reality.  Both spent many years calling New York City home and now each reside part time on separate coasts in charming, art & culture rich, towns. The partners bring over 20 years of experience in art, fashion, entertainment & hospitality to cultivating the evolution of the gallery. MITCH + CO focuses in contemporary art through collaborative projects with emerging and mid-career artists, curators, art dealers and institutions. The mission is to present innovative and progressive exhibitions that encourage creative experiences from the artists to the viewers.  Art is a language, a passion, an emotion, a common ground, a connector. MITCH + CO can be found at regional art fairs nationwide as well as pop up exhibitions in New York and California. We also offer consultation for public, private, and corporate collections and projects Giuliana Mottin & Erika Lane Crawford.

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171 Elizabeth St
October 24-29 / 11am-8pm
Opening Night: Thursday, October 26 / 5-10pm.

MITCH + CO | www.mitchplusco.com | info@mitchplusco.com