ALEKSANDER KOBZDEJ. Struggle with Substance catalogue edited by Józef GRABSKI Cracow-Warsaw 2002 232 × 252 mm, Pages: 232 33 full-page colour plates + 33 b&w photographs laminated hardback ISBN 83-915130-3-3 On the cover: Space No. 21, 1969, mixed technique, 90 × 60 cm (cat. no. 23)

Catalogue of an exhibition of painting of Aleksander Kobzdej (1920-1972), organised on the thirtieth anniversary of the artist's death and show at the Polish Auction House "SZTUKA" galleries in Warsaw and Cracow. The catalogue contains numerous full-page colour reproductions of all exhibited works, which come from the rarely exhibited family collection. These are mostly works of art pertaining to the so-called matter painting; only a few of them cymes from the early period of socialist realism.

The present catalogue offers, apart from some new texts written specially for this exhibition, a wide and varied selection of critical articles on Kobzdej's art, authored by the most renowned Polish and foreign critics. They are complemented by an ample anthology of the artist's own writings on art and its problems, and the interviews he gave. Black-and-white archival photos of the artist from the family archives illustrate all texts throughout the book. The documentary part of the book includes biography, the record of exhibition in which the painter participated and index of names.

All exhibited works are reproduced in full colour in the catalogue, and the essays are accompanied by archival black-and-white photographs of the artist and his family, of truly artistic quality.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION
JÓZEF GRABSKI - ALEKSANDER KOBZDEJ'S STRUGGLE WITH MATTER

CRITICAL ESSAYS, MEMOIRS, EXHIBITION REVIEWS
ANNA BARANOWA - ALEKSANDER KOBZDEJ - PAINTING AS THE PRICE FOR LIFE
DANUTA WRÓBLEWSKA - WHY KOBZDEJ?
JERZY TCHÓRZEWSKI - OLEK
TADEUSZ RÓŻEWICZ - INSPIRATION DRAWN FROM THE FINE ARTS
WOJCIECH SKRODZKI - ALEKSANDER KOBZDEJ. A WORK OF ART WITHOUT BORDERS
TADEUSZ KONWICKI - MY FRIEND OLEK
MIECZYSŁAW PORĘBSKI - ALEKSANDER KOBZDEJ
WIESŁAWA WIERZCHOWSKA - ALEKSANDER KOBZDEJ
JERZY STAJUDA - WHO DOESN'T LIKE KOBZDEJ?
MIECZYSŁAW PORĘBSKI, ANDRZEJ JAKIMOWICZ, JERZY STAJUDA - IN ALEKSANDER KOBZDEJ'S STUDIO
JANUSZ BOGUCKI - KOBZDEJ IN CRACOW
JERZY MADEYSKI - ALEKSANDER KOBZDEJ
PIOTR SKRZYNECKI - KOBZDEJ'S PAINTING
STANISŁAW LEDÓCHOWSKI - A PAINTER OF OPTIMISM
PIERRE COURTHION - ALEKSANDER KOBZDEJ
MIECZYSŁAW PORĘBSKI - ALEKSANDER KOBZDEJ
GIUSEPPE MARCHIORI - CONTEMPORARY POLISH PAINTERS

ALEKSANDER KOBZDEJ IN MONOGRAPHS OF CONTEMPORARY POLISH ART

ALEKSANDER KOBZDEJ'S STATEMENTS
DEAR VISITOR!
MY OCCUPATION IS PAINTING
ART IS NO ANGEL'S KISS
I FOUND MYSELF IN KASSEL
MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART
CREATIVITY, OR THE FIGHTING OF AESTHETICS
RECIPIENTS AND CREATORS IN FINE ARTS
WHAT DIRECTION IS ART HEADING FOR. WITHOUT BOUNDARIES

TALKS AND INTERVIEWS WITH THE ARTIST
KIRA GAŁCZYŃSKA - ALEKSANDER KOBZDEJ'S SUCCESSES IN TWO CONTINENTS
JERZY MADEYSKI - THE PRIZE WINNER'S RETURN
ZBIGNIEW HERBERT - FROM AN ARTIST'S ATELIER. ALEKSANDER KOBZDEJ
JERZY MADEYSKI - ALEKSANDER KOBZDEJ TALKS ABOUT A COUPLE OF PROBLEMS OF CONTEMPORARY ART
M. JANKOWSKA - LEONARDO'S ASTONISHMENT

BIOGRAPHY

EXHIBITIONS

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX OF NAMES