From January 4 to 31, 2021, you will be able to visit an exhibition by interdisciplinary artist Marek Kotarba titled “Save from oblivion” at the W-Z gallery of ZPAP in the escalator passage on the Castle Square in Warsaw. It will feature twelve KOTARBANES, which are interpretations of songs by Marek Grechuta, and as many porcelain sculptures.
Music is the most ephemeral of the arts. When the last notes of a musical piece ring out, only their memory remains in us. Music touches the strings of our sensitivity and makes the world a little better. Especially if the music is peculiarly inspired, like the music of Mark Grechuta.
But is it possible to capture music and pass it on… without sound? The works presented at the exhibition are an attempt at just such a representation: they are artistic interpretations of songs by the legend of Polish poetic song. Each kotarban combines the delicacy and fragility of porcelain with strong spots of color on canvas. It is through such expression that Marek Kotarba interprets Grechuta’s individual songs. The aim of the exhibition is to move our own emotions and provoke reflection. Under the influence of these kotarbans, the question arises, “How would I interpret this particular song?”
The various kotarbans vary in mood, as do the songs they illustrate. Some are tranquil, and the porcelain micro-reliefs seem to live in this peaceful world, like creatures in the darkness of the ocean, while others assault the viewer with the heat of the fire in which the porcelain silhouettes dance. Marek Kotarba reduces the song to a simple white porcelain symbol with colorful emotions swirling in the background.
