Stefan KORNACKI (b. 1983), DU PAIN 2, 2025

acrylic, canvas; 50 x 50 cm;
signed p. d. S.KORNACKI / 2025;
Painting intervention of sculptures in front of the Presidential Palace in Warsaw.
Title "Du Pain" ("bread" in French). - I paint to survive, evokes associations with the English word "Pain" (pain) and the Polish word "ass".
"Subtle trolling of state institutions - that's what we can expect from you, Stefan."
Piotr Kedzierski / journalist.
The idea came about during a morning walk. The second painting in the series is a continuation of painting the symbols and details of Warsaw.
Summer, morning.
Sun-drenched Krakowskie Przedmieście and four famous stone lions by Camillo Landini, created in 1821. Even then, the sculptures were still awaiting an equally famous renovation, so my attention was first drawn to the post-booths, around which I am also active. It wasn't until I walked around them from several sides that I noticed their massive testicles. I thought they were hind paws, but no - they were lion's balls. The painting was created during a one-day plein air painting workshop in front of the Presidential Palace.
Link to documentation of the painting intervention: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBwg-OtL-c0
Stefan Kornacki - multimedia artist. Co-founder of the music groups Ser Charles and Stop duo, Winner of the "Talents of the Triple" awarded by Program 3 of the Polish Radio in the category of visual arts, honored with the title of "Culturist", awarded by the Radio House of Culture, Scholarship holder of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, Marshal of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship, Graduate of graphic design at the WSP UMK in Toruń. He has performed with such artists as Tomasz Stanko, Hania Rani, Tomasz Organek, Justyna Chowaniak, Tomasz Januchta, among others. He is currently working on the Inscription Project (a series of installations and actions in urban space using dismantled signs and neon signs) of the multimedia Covid 19 Speedway League, Local News - an action on the borderline of socially engaged and critical art - one of the actions "Don't put up monuments to me" could be seen in the famous Czech film "How God searched for Karel" , or the Wideness and Poems for Runners projects, which seek a new space for poetry. The artist's works could be seen in Poland, Portugal, Germany, Estonia, Ukraine, Iceland, Armenia and India, among others. On a daily basis, as a graphic designer, he collaborates with, among others, "Nowy Tygodnik Kulturalny", and since 2021 he has been an artist associated with the Tri-City Weather Collective. He lives and creates in Warsaw.