a r t i s t ’ s A r t i c l e

Conceptual Art and Abstraction

Deconstructed Painting
M ar i u s z S ta n o w s k i

This article proposes a new conception of art and presents a form of to include in its remit all things extra-artistic, thus implying
ABSTRACT

painting that exemplifies that concept. Considering the developments that art can be everything (every object). As Grzegorz Dzi-
in twentieth- and 21st-century art, the author notes that art created after
amski noted, following Boris Groys:
the conceptual period has failed so far to take account of the profound
transformation that occurred within it in the twentieth century. This Today everything may be art; everything may function as
change consisted in the identification of art with reality, achieved by art, because art has liberated itself of all constraints, includ-
incorporating into art all significant spheres/objects of reality. One result
ing the constraints of its own definition, and gained abso-
has been the dominance of referential art following the conceptualist
period. Referential artworks are split into object and reference. This lute freedom. Art became absolute, as Boris Groys says. It
impedes untrammeled creativity, which would otherwise promote the became absolute because it made anti-art a fully legitimate
integration of diverse formal elements. This article proposes painting that part of itself, and from that moment on, from the time anti-
exemplifies such artistic creation. art was incorporated in the realm of art, it is not possible to
either undermine or negate art, because even negation of
art is art, as attested moreover by a long, almost century-
Rather than a theoretical treatise on existing ideas, this ar- old tradition, going as far back as the first readymades of
ticle should be understood as an account of this author’s Marcel Duchamp [1].
self-conscious intuitions resulting from the contemplation of Conceptualism completed the process of absorbing reality
developments in art that inspired a conception of art and of into art by including, in addition to material spheres (incor-
painting exemplifying that conception. Those developments porated by earlier trends), such as the earth and the body, the
are outlined below. creative process and even life, as well as thought, content and
Following the analytical art of the 1960s and 1970s (Con- its referent [2]. Parallel to those changes, consciousness was
ceptualism) came the postmodernist turn and a loss of altered, e.g. by Jacques Derrida’s deconstruction, consisting
interest in deeper theoretical investigations. Artistic con- of an internal reconstruction of familiar formal structures of
sciousness, which had such a key role before and in the era meaning. The result is that when reality is considered in the
of Conceptualism, became less important. The use of new context of art, art can be understood as reality itself rather
media to describe reality, communicate content (e.g. social than something existing alongside reality. There is also a psy-
content) or express emotions, reflecting largely the contribu- chological aspect related to that process: The artistic person-
tion of Joseph Beuys and Neo-Expressionism, was effected ality perceives reality precisely as art (for example, in actions
superficially, without taking into account a significant change identifying life with art).
brought by twentieth-century art (including Conceptual- The consequences of identifying art with reality go further.
ism), which consisted in the identification of art with reality Today, when examining any object (of reality) in the context
and of content with the formal element. While content was of art (as an artwork), it is necessary to recognize that such
now given a greater role as a formal tool, it was also treated context comprises its entire reality (as art). Consequently,
(in its referential aspect) in a traditional manner, as external any reference/meaning of the artwork also belongs to that
to art, despite the fact that twentieth-century art had sought context (which means that it is a formal artistic element),
and since it is linked to the artwork it also forms part of its
formal tools. Hence, the postconceptualist period presents
Mariusz Stanowski (artist). Email: stanowskimariusz@wp.pl. new types of formal elements, representing a synthesis of
See www.mitpressjournals.org/toc/leon/53/5 for supplemental files associated the formal element that existed before Conceptualism and its
with this issue.
(then) meaning/reference (assuming no significant change in

©2020 ISAST   https://doi.org/10.1162/leon_a_01859 LEONARDO, Vol. 53, No. 5, pp. 485–491, 2020 485
 meanings in relation to the past). Such formal elements no views of art theorists who believe that only such art is pos-
longer have any external meaning/reference (since they have sible. For example, Arthur Danto in The Transfiguration of
been internalized) relating to reality conceived as existing the Commonplace stated that each artwork is (must be) about
outside art. On the other hand, as a result of the equation of something, that it is a type of statement about reality [4].
art with reality, the former has no longer any contact with The referential nature (or commitment) of art introduces
the latter, and today we can deal either with art or with real- a division of the artwork into object and reference (meaning,
ity, depending on which of these two dimensions we choose content), differentiating the reference as a formal element
to be active in. By treating any object of reality as a formal external to the work (a meta-element). That distinction is
element of art, we also turn all other objects of reality into all the stronger because the reference is a special (not visual)
formal objects of art, because for a given object to remain kind of formal element. Such division of the artwork is not
a formal element of art it must be considered exclusively conducive to unfettered creativity, which consists in the in-
within the context of art. Therefore, any relationships be- tegration of any number of diverse (but nevertheless equal
tween individual formal elements can only operate within for creative purposes) formal elements.
the realm of art (as with relationships with the other formal For instance, in Wilhelm Sasnal’s Untitled (2009), a paint-
elements). ing depicting tires on a beach, the object is the painting, while
This view of art brings to mind the abstract art of the early the reference is, for example, environmentalism. Instead of
twentieth century, the essential aim of which was to shed its entering into play with other formal elements of the painting
relations with reality. In Cubism and Abstract Art, Alfred Barr such as colors, shapes, arrangement, etc., the reference (as a
explained the meaning of the word abstraction as follows: formal element) constitutes another and separate part of the
“The verb to abstract means to draw out of or away from. But work (to which the former elements are subordinated). In
the noun abstraction is something already drawn out of or contrast, in such paintings as my Last Supper (Fig. 1) or Group
away from—so much so that like a geometrical figure or an of People (Fig. 2), formal elements are much less constrained
amorphous silhouette it may have no apparent relation to and treated equally.
concrete reality” [3]. If we agree that the referential nature of art is in line with
Today, we also confront the severance of links between art the reigning paradigm (discernible to a lesser or greater
and reality, albeit in a different way than in the case of geo- extent in all works presented at major exhibitions such as
metric abstraction. Thus, in line with the above-cited defini- documenta in Kassel or the Venice Biennale), one should
tion, formal elements of art freed from any relationship with consider that this formula blocks unfettered creativity and
reality can be regarded as abstract, and the use of such ele- artistic expression. Jan Verwoert expressed a similar concern
ments may be described as “abstract art.” The failure to take [5], discussing the need to conceptualize painting by reaching
account of the identification of art with reality is attested by deeper into painting itself, its language, formal structure and
the referential nature of contemporary art, as well as by the history, in contrast to the current practice (conceptualiza-

Fig. 1.  Mariusz Stanowski, Last Supper, acrylic, photos, ink, charcoal, gold paint on canvas, 90 × 170 cm, 1986/2002.
(© Mariusz Stanowski) Formal elements include: quotation, expression, geometry, realism, Cubism, drawing, photography,
charcoal, gold, color, negative, complexity, poor visibility, multiplicity, perspective.

486 Stanowski, Conceptual Art and Abstraction

 Fig. 2.  Mariusz Stanowski, Group of People, acrylic on canvas, 100 × 140 cm, 2001.
(© Mariusz Stanowski) Formal elements include: portraits (famous people representing
different spheres of life), color, quotation, eroticism, directionality, drawing.

tion), which merely positions painting as one of the available

media (committed to the expression of some content, e.g.
social content).
As an analogy of such painting, I would point to socially
engaged painting in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries
(e.g. the paintings of Jacques-Louis David). At that time,
such art was criticized by supporters of autonomous art be-
cause it neglected artistic values by serving some ideology.
Yet, ideology could not be integral to an artwork in the past
to the extent it can be at present. This is because today the
reference (meaning, content) can play the same role as other
formal means, such as color (Figs 1–7), shape, space (Figs
1,5), photo (Figs 1,3,8), quotation (Figs 1,2,4–8), etc., without
disturbing the integrity of the artwork. Such a solution is
indispensable given the long record of art’s commitment to
ideology (originated largely by Beuys) and the noticeable
dearth and need for autonomous art as evidenced by, for
instance, the title (Viva Arte Viva) and program of the 2017
Venice Biennale.

Fig. 3.  Mariusz Stanowski, Self-Portrait 2, acrylic, photos on canvas, 100 × 70 cm,
2010. (© Mariusz Stanowski) The intersecting lines formed from portraits (of the author)
have the following formal characteristics: color, photography, direction, negative, brightness,
differentiation. The elements at the intersections overlap. This may symbolize the way we
think, or the nervous system in the brain.

Stanowski, Conceptual Art and Abstraction 487

 Fig. 4.  Mariusz Stanowski, Jazz Group, acrylic on canvas, 100 × 140 cm, 2018. (© Mariusz Stanowski) Formal elements include: content (a concert),
color, quotation, drawing, double, nude. The main formal content (meaning) is a doubleness realized in many different ways.

Fig. 5.  Mariusz Stanowski, Viewpoint, acrylic on canvas, 90 × 140 cm, 2018. (© Mariusz Stanowski) Formal elements include:
content (popular tourist trap), perspective, color, quotation, transparency, double, size (sleeping Venus as a big cloud in the sky).

488 Stanowski, Conceptual Art and Abstraction

 left
Fig. 6.  Mariusz Stanowski, Birds,
acrylic on canvas, 100 × 100 cm,
2019. (© Mariusz Stanowski)
Formal elements include: quotation
(Mondrian), drawing, size, portraits
(of famous composers). The formal
content of this painting consists in
the combination of three different
spheres of reality: modern visual art
(Mondrian), classical music (famous
composers) and nature (birds).

below left
Fig. 7.  Mariusz Stanowski,
Three Graces, acrylic on canvas,
140 × 110 cm, 2018. (© Mariusz
Stanowski) Formal elements include:
quotation, drawing, color, eroticism,
geometry, transparency, multiplic-
ity, painting style, negative, race,
content (during the photo session
the woman on the right receives a
message).

below
Fig. 8.  Mariusz Stanowski,
Mona Lisa, photos on canvas,
100 × 70 cm, 2001. (© Mariusz
Stanowski) Portrait of Mona Lisa
made from tiny photos of pop
star Madonna, stuck to the canvas.
Formal elements include: q
­ uotation,
drawing, photographs, size,
multiplicity.

Stanowski, Conceptual Art and Abstraction 489

 How the Change May Be Effected: An Example C) workshop-related structures:
Here I describe my own painting (which I have been pursu- • sketches, projects, notes.
ing since 1986) as an example of abstract art conforming to • text—On Kawara.
the interpretation of abstraction outlined above. • graphic techniques, drawing (pencil, charcoal, ink),
The formal elements of my paintings are the familiar watercolor, oil, acrylic, photography.
formal elements of art, that is, those that became differen- D) abstract elements:
tiated (achieved autonomy) in the course of the history of • inverted, exact, complex, large, small, double, colored,
art (primarily in the twentieth century). Because they are unfinished, multiple.
already differentiated and known (equipped with meanings E) From the point of view of the whole area of painting, the
attributed to them), they should be treated as new formal formal elements are both elements in different types, direc-
elements representing the synthesis of the form (visual/mate- tions, styles as well as whole directions, types, styles that
rial element) and its meaning. I have described such painting are distinguishable and visually recognizable, even in small
as pure because it also employs formal elements devoid of fragments of images. These are more complex elements,
referents (since referents/meanings have been inducted into covering wider formal areas, and qualitatively different
formal elements), or pure forms. I discussed this in a 1986 from the elements themselves, i.e. elements of particular
manifesto: directions, types, styles of existing painting.
Here we can include:
Crisis of Art as Art: If we equate the crisis of art with the ex-
haustion of formal means of expression, that is if we agree • styles of individual epochs, e.g. Gothic, Renaissance,
that each structure of reality has already been a formal Baroque.
means, then this is a very positive development. The art • styles of particular directions, e.g. Impressionism,
that we currently practice is purer than ever before. At pres- Realism, Cubism.
ent, when all elements of reality may be considered formal • styles of individual painters and quotations, e.g. Joan
elements, in engaging in artistic activity we deal exclusively Miro, Victor Vasarely.
with formal elements, or pure forms. In the process of cre- F) various types of painting, e.g. Primitive Painting, Child
ation, new pure forms are born out of pure forms; therefore, Painting, Egyptian Painting, Graffiti.
the creativity itself is a pure form—art. If this is so, then we What the Pure Painting is:
must not invent new formal means, but on the contrary we • Pure Painting is a tautology because it only refers
need to take advantage of those already available. The more to painting.
they are known, the purer such forms become [6]. • Pure Painting uses familiar, existing formal
Examples of new formal elements are listed in the text Pure languages—in this sense Pure Painting is a
Painting—Interpretation [7]: metalanguage.
• Pure Painting is a pure form. Elements of Pure
The object of Pure Painting is the whole existing painting,
Painting are obtained by selecting specific structures
just as reality is the object of existing painting. I consider
of the existing painting. Selected structures/elements
the existing painting to be much wider than a collection of
detached from their own context and placed in the
existing artworks, i.e. I consider it as all formal elements to
context of Pure Painting lose their previous (utility)
be eligible for specific types, directions and styles of paint-
functions, like Ready-Made elements in the context
ing which in fact could represent all spheres of reality (it
of art.
has become possible due to the expansion of painting in
• Pure Painting is the most abstract painting because
[the] 20th century).
it abstracts formal elements in a broader sense than
Pure painting can be a synthesis of any existing formal
abstracting from objectivity as existing abstract
elements. First of all, however, it tries to set together the
painting does. Pure painting also treats a specific
most known elements, i.e. those that are most prominent
object as a form abstracted from the context of ob-
in the whole area of painting. Here are some examples of
jectivity in existing painting and representing this
them:
context (as a meaning) in Pure Painting, likewise
A) formal elements distinguished by particular directions treats abstract elements, e.g. geometric forms.
in painting. • Pure Painting associating pure formal elements (visual
• color—most strongly distinguished by impressionism. part of existing formal elements together with their
• space, visual organization—by Cubism. meanings, references, content) is a pure creativity.
• geometrical forms, structures—by Geometric • Pure Painting is the result of not related to anything
Abstraction. specific, an abstract necessity of creation.
• object—by Pop-Art. The idea of Pure Painting is founded on the assumption
• gesture—Abstract Expression. that all more important formal elements of painting are al-
• objective references—Surrealism. ready known (and represent, in a sense, ready-made objects).
• visual structures related to physiology of vision— Pictures are created here by choosing any formal element,
by Op-Art.
e.g. portrait, and rebuilding it using other (known) formal
B) formal elements distinguished by individual artists: elements such as color, photography, direction, negative,
• color blue, gold—Yves Klein. brightness, etc.
• line—Piero Manzoni. This method resembles Derrida’s deconstruction. The

490 Stanowski, Conceptual Art and Abstraction

 analogy is useful here because all formal elements (like words necessity, regardless of whether our activity is truly in-
in a text) have meanings ascribed to them. For instance, in novative or only limited to mere subjective expression.
Last Supper (Fig. 1), the quotation (of da Vinci’s The Last When I realized that rather than tracing my own path,
Supper) has been subjected to deconstruction. The meanings my work would have to follow one of the roads already
associated with the visual formal elements include: quotation traveled, I experienced it as a drama of the inability to
(of a well-known painting), expression (first man on the left), attain self-fulfillment in our times. Later on, it occurred
to me that instead of creating anything I can express the
charcoal (a group of three people on the left side of Christ),
idea of artistic creation itself [8].”
photography (legs), sculpture (third man on the left), Cubism
(third man on the right), perspective (white lines), etc. Each As examples of the disclosure of the creative process I
formal element may be both constitutive and deconstructed; should mention the paintings of Picasso and Arcimboldo,
all formal elements in pure painting are treated equally. The wherein the building and creation are most visible.
conception proposed here does not rule out the possibility of 2. This form of painting represents the very definition of
using (temporal) context to represent similar solutions, such painting, because it defines all formal elements of paint-
as Neo-Expressionism or socially committed art. However, ing. If we agree that all formal elements of art are also
it treats them as individual formal elements (types of ready- (in a sense) the formal elements of painting, the latter
made objects) employed to express an idea or metaphor. can also be regarded as the definition of art, as well as
Moreover, it offers an alternative that puts these ready-made the definition/model of reality (in accordance with the
objects to use as material for creating complex structures, idea that art superimposes itself on reality). I understand
thus restoring the possibility of composing (building)—as in the painting of Mondrian, where painting is defined as
music or Cubism, but on a higher (meta) level. vertical and horizontal direction and basic colors (black,
To further clarify the essence of this concept of art, it is white and gray), along similar lines. The model character
helpful to describe its references. These references are general of Mondrian’s painting was noticed by many theoreti-
cians, e.g. Y.-A. Bois in Painting as Model [9].
and as such testify to the autonomy of the paintings intro-
duced here rather than to their referential nature: One can tell a great deal about painting from a name/
label. At first, I described my painting work as pure. Such
1. When viewing the paintings (Figs 1–8) made in line
designation seemed the most appropriate, but its associa-
with the proposed conception, we notice that the
tion with purism in painting was uncalled for. Thus, I later
associated formal elements become differentiated
began to use the term conceptual painting, since concepts
(identifiable) and the creative process is conscious
were its most critical formal elements. That painting work
and perceptible. This is how painting communicates
represented, in my view, a synthesis of traditional painting
the idea of creation (being a metaphor and an expres-
and Conceptualism. However, that name subsequently be-
sion of creation). This point is discussed in the fol-
came associated with a trend in painting, which to me had
lowing fragment of a larger text titled Creation and
little to do with Conceptualism. The third label I considered
Expression of Creation:
for reasons outlined above was abstract painting. However,
“I paint in such a way as to reveal the process of com- that term already refers to abstract painting of the early twen-
bining the formal elements. It seems to me that espe- tieth century. Presently I am thinking about choosing the
cially in the case of painting, where the creative process designation deconstructed painting, which has been kindly
tends to be concealed, it could be stimulating to bring suggested to me, probably because it is a new term in the
that process into the open. In my view, creativity is the field of painting and says a lot about the concept of painting
deepest motivation for all activity today, as well as a presented in this article.

References and Notes 7 M. Stanowski, Pure Painting—Interpretation, exh. cat. (Warsaw:

Stodoła Gallery, 1986).
1 G. Dziamski, Sztuka po końcu sztuki. Sztuka początku XXI wieku [Art
After the End of Art. Art of the Beginning of the 21st Century] (Galeria 8 M. Stanowski, Creation and Expression of Creation, exh. cat. (Łódź:
Miejska Arsenał, 2009) p. 7 (author’s translation). Bałucka Gallery, 1996).

2 J. Kosuth, Art after Philosophy and After: Collected Writings, 1966– 9 Y.-A. Bois, Painting as Model (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1990).
1990, G. Guercio, ed., foreword by Jean-François Lyotard (Cam-
bridge, MA: MIT Press, 1991).
Manuscript received 6 January 2018.
3 A. Barr, Cubism and Abstract Art, exh. cat. (New York: Museum of
Modern Art, 1936).
Mariusz Stanowski was born in Warsaw, Poland (1951).
4 A. Danto, The Transfiguration of the Commonplace: A Philosophy of He graduated from Warsaw University of Technology (1974) and
Art (Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press, 1981). Fine Arts Academy in Warsaw (1979), where he later worked
5 J. Verwoert, “Why Are Conceptual Artists Painting Again? Because as an academic teacher and designer. He is currently a painter
They Think It’s a Good Idea,” Afterall 12 (2005) pp. 7–16. and independent researcher. His research is situated between
6 M. Stanowski, Crisis of Art as Art, exh. cat. (Warsaw: Stodoła Gallery, humanities and natural sciences, including philosophy, theory
1986). of art, cognitive science, theory of information and physics.

Stanowski, Conceptual Art and Abstraction 491