Jacek SROKA (b. 1957), Europe, 2020

oil, canvas; 80 x 65 cm;
Signed and dated l. d.: SROKA 2020;
signed, dated and described on the reverse: JACEK / SROKA / 27K20 / 2020 / EUROPE.
"(...) The reception of his works becomes a fascinating activity, as it plays out on many levels. The viewer, after receiving the first violent blow "over the eyes" with sharp forms and colors, can devote himself to further, calmer and more intriguing reading of the painting, which draws him into the mysterious world of signs and representations. In addition to the visual sphere, the viewer's imagination is awakened by the semantic layer of his works. An important role is played, as in the case of the Surrealists, by the often puzzling, surprising title of the painting or print. The meaning of the visual representation is supplemented by inscriptions and inscriptions, often applied to the picture plane."
(Prof. Tomasz Gryglewicz "Ten Fragments on the Painting of Jacek Sroka")
"(...) Jacek Sroka, with his rich and surprising imagination, is close to the masters of the Middle Ages. Lively intelligence, multiple interests, a sense of humor, gentle irony and the ability to keep a distance, project his specific way of "seeing" and describing the world. A particularly important feature in Sroka's work is precisely the ability to maintain distance."
(Dominik Rostworowski "Beneath the Surface", Himmelberger Gallery, San Francisco)