Karol Palczak

Dzisiaj
Kunsthalle Zürich

Holding On to Home

For over a decade, Karol Palczak’s (b. Przemyśl, Poland, 1987; lives and works in Krzywcza, Poland) paintings have been dedicated to recording the village in which he grew up. Surrounded by mountains and valleys, Krzywcza is located near the Ukrainian border in the foothills of the Carpathians. Once home to Jewish, Orthodox, and Catholic communities, the area is now defined by an atmosphere of emptiness and silence. Revealing details that are often overlooked, Palczak’s still lifes, landscapes, and scenes with recurring protagonists portray his economically strained and increasingly depopulated and militarized native region.

Released on occasion of Karol Palczak’s first institutional solo exhibition, the book contains essays by Kirsty Bell and Krzysztof Kosciuczuk as well as a conversation with the artist by Joanna Zeromska.