“Impresions-Blue”. Temporary art exhibition aboard the museum-ship “Sołdek”

Can the sound of waves become a relief and respite for a man entangled in a stressful job and pandemic issues of the modern world? Does the colloquial „drop of water” evoke hope or perhaps tears and regret over the man-made devastation of nature? We invite you from 16 October 2021 to visit the exhibition „Impressions – Blue” and to interpreted the marine symbols anew.

Ten Polish professional artists, graduates of artistic schools, members of creative associations participated in the painting plein-air „Impressions – Blue”, which was a part of activities within the project „2 Ships – Common Sea. Sołdek and Vityaz: Maritime Heritage of Poland and Russia”. The participants individually visited Gdańsk and the branches of the National Maritime Museum in Gdańsk, particularly „Sołdek” museum-ship, to find inspiration and collect drawings for the „painting response” created in their atelier. – At first, we planned joint artistic plein-airs in Poland and Russia, to exchange experiences and establish new international contacts. Regrettably, the pandemic frustrated our plans; therefore, the artistic activities of the Polish artists were held in our country, whereas artists from Russia organized their activities in Kaliningrad. – says Barbara Wojczuk-Krystek from the Education Department at the National Maritime Museum.

The exhibition, nicely arranged in the newly opened cargo hold no. 2 of the famous coal and ore carrier “Sołdek”, displays 20 paintings by Polish artist and 25 replicas of the works by Russian painters. Maritime and industrial scenes, pictures of coasts and landscapes by the artists from Russia are very realistic, but at the same time filled with emotion and subtly mediate spirits of the creators. – The main themes included „Sołdek” museum-ship and „Vityaz” ship. – says Barbara Wojczuk-Krystek. The ships were depicted in paintings „Two Ships, One Sea” and „Homeland vol. 11 (Sołdek)”. Two ideas; the first, a symbolic one – with miniature ships connected with a common mythological sea; the other, extremely innovative, with „Sołdek” in architectural space, evoking modern exhibition solutions combined with virtual, marine space. The other works, painted in oils or acrylic paints present the marine themes in a broad sense. Most of the works are landscape paintings. Landscapes „Sea Wave”, „At Sea” and „The Baltic Sea” reflect the spirit of the sea in a realistic way. The main theme of the painting „On the Beach” is a man and the calm and emptiness around, bringing questions about loneliness and the power of the sea – the element dominating the human. „Sea Tales” and „Sea Tales – a flicker of hope” refer to symbolism and magical realism, relating to ecological issues and man-made sea pollution, as well as economy related to plastic production, devastating the ecosystem. „Neptune’s Ball of all the Snails in the World” is a clear reference to the Polish-Russian, Gdańsk-Kaliningrad cross-border cooperation. The painting „Solace” refers to the abstraction – a trend in visual arts, where the work fails to contain any illustrative features and the artist does not try to imitate the nature.

“Impresions-Blue” – current art exhibition
16.10.2021 – 14.11.2021
museum-ship „Sołdek”

Project „2 Ships – Common Sea. Soldek & Vityaz: Maritime Heritage of Poland and Russia” is co-financed by the European Union under the Poland-Russia Cross-border Cooperation Programme 2014-2020 and co-financed by Ministry of Culture, National Heritage and Sport of the Republic of Poland.

This article was produced with the financial support of the European Union, under the Poland-Russia Cross-border Cooperation Programme 2014-2020. Its contents are the sole responsibility of the National Maritime Museum in Gdańsk and under no circumstances can be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union, the MA or the Joint Technical Secretariat of the Poland-Russia CBC Programme 2014-2020.