Vase with Flowers

The “Vase with Flowers” series, dated 1980-1982, comprises of four paintings in which realist depictions of still lifes are subject to subsequent transformations according to a predetermined scheme yielding more and more blurred, abstract compositions. This resembles a method employed by the artist in his photographic series of 1973 titled “The Old Town”, “Rose” and “Ball”. In order to accurately copy images and perform the desired modifications at the same time Bakowski used an optical device of his own creation which included a grid that divided the canvas into squares of equal size. The artist worked on all four canvases simultaneously, copying one section onto each of them. At the same time, the photographic station he arranged allowed him to record the making of the series using a photographic camera.