Towards an Intensification of the Perception of Paintings: A Study of Rafał Bujnowski’s 2012-2016 Monochrome Works

Abstract

The aim of this study is to analyse the hitherto unresearched monochrome paintings of Rafał Bujnowski from 2012-2016. Focusing on works from the series “Nokturn (Graboszyce)”, “Nokturn”, “Pejzaż w szarości” and “Maj 2066. Tonda”, I interpret them in the context of the perception of paintings, and the painter’s conscious transformation of the viewer’s way of seeing. This article presents Bujnowski’s recent works as rooted in the history of art – covering that space between the romantic nocturne tradition and the idea of the end of painting. The use of painting conventions is not based on repetition, but rather on reinterpretation: asking questions about the materiality of the work of art, its visual limits or the viewer’s relationship with the canvas. I point out different ways of intensifying the experience of paintings and the strengthening of the audience’s contact with a particular work. These aspects allow me to present the monochrome paintings as a complex space of meanings, and as a tool for investigating the present: space, speed and time.