Oskar Dawicki (born 1971) – is a painter by education who, during his studies, became interested in performance art, a field to which he has remained committed over the years. After 2000, he expanded his practice to include video works, photography, documentation, and eventually objects and installations. His art combines a romantic-tragic component, deeply saturated with existential dilemmas, with the poetics and critical dimension of conceptual art. Self-reflection on the status of the contemporary artist intertwines with contemplation on the ethereal and fragile nature of personal identity. Embarrassment, discomfort, misunderstanding, and complication are concepts that fuel the artist’s imagination. Dawicki regards the unproductiveness of art as its most promising dimension. Between 2000 and 2010, he was a co-founder and member of the Azorro group.
Dawicki’s works and performances have been presented in many galleries and institutions across Europe and the United States, including Tate Modern in London, Museum Abteiberg in Mönchengladbach, Folkwang Museum in Essen, Hayward Gallery in London, Kunsthalle in Vienna, Kunstwerke in Berlin, Witte de With in Rotterdam, Museum of Art in Łódź, the National Museum and Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw. In 2010, a novel about the artist’s life was published (Łukasz Gorczyca, Łukasz Ronduda: “W połowie puste” [Half-Empty], published by Lampa i Iskra Boża), and in 2015, a feature film inspired by Dawicki’s work was released, with the artist himself in the leading role (“Performer”, directed by Łukasz Ronduda and Maciej Sobieszczański). He lives and works in Warsaw.