Jan PAMULA (1944 - 2022), Color collections (chromatic) 1976 / III, 1976

acrylic, canvas; 91 x 111 cm;
signed, dated and inscribed on the back l. g.: JAN PAMUŁA / ZBIORY CHROMATYCZNE / III/1976
on the reverse: stamp (illegible)

Provenance:
private collection, Poland

Image exhibited:
- Jan Pamula. Geometric Objects. Retrospective, Starmach Gallery, Cracow, 12.2001-01.2002.
- Jan Pamuła. Pioneer of computer art in Poland, Museum of Art in Olomouc, Olomouc 24.06.2021 - 02.01.2022.
- Jan Pamuła - The Shape of Reality, Wallspace Gallery, Warsaw, 20.09. - 12.10. 2024

Reproduced painting:
- Jan Pamuła. Pioneer of Computer Art in Poland, edited by B. Gawronska-Oramus, Museum of Art in Olomouc, Olomouc 2020, p. 174 (color ill.)
- Jan Pamuła. geometric objects. Retrospekcja, ed. by A. Szczepaniak, Starmach Gallery, Cracow 2001.


The offered painting belongs to one of the key series by Jan Pamuła - an artist considered a precursor of digital and geometric abstraction in Poland. It delights with its mathematical precision and rigor of color arrangement - foreshadowing the artist's later experiments with computer graphics in the 1980s and 1990s.

In the series "Chromatic Sets," dating from the 1970s, the painter used calculus of probability and random dice throws to build the geometric space of the composition. The series was the result of his fascination with visual logic, composition based on color permutations and the study of color relationships in geometric grid systems.

The painting "Color Sets (Chromatic) 1976 / III" consists of a series of rectangular, multicolored fields of intense color, forming a unique, precise arrangement. Significantly, although the work dates from the "pre-computer" time, its aesthetics anticipate the development of algorithmic painting. It is evidence of excellent intuition and color sensitivity combined with the pursuit of mathematical precision. The work has an exhibition and catalog history. The visual qualities and the period of its creation determine its representativeness.