HappenArt

Wilhelm Sasnal

Painter
Location: Krakow (Poland)

Wilhelm Sasnal was born in 1972 in Tarnow, Poland. He studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow until 1999, but before that he studied architecture for two years at the Polytechnic in Krakow. During his studies, Sasnal became involved in the artistic collective called Ładnie Group. The title meant pretty or pretty and the band embraced the exact opposite aesthetic. Rather unconventional, and was active until 2000. After that Sasnal worked for advertising agencies but simultaneously produced paintings. Photographs, films. Over time, as his career developed, the artist’s work became part of the public collections of institutions such as the Tate Modern in London and the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw.

20th century propaganda.

Sasnal approaches painting as a formal exercise. He often borrows subjects from art history. Also, to 20th century propaganda and photojournalism. Avions is a dark appropriation of Alighiero Boetti’s famous airplane designs. Overturning the original pastoral optimism, Wilhelm Sasnal’s planes are engulfed in smoke as if hit by enemy fire.

High culture.

He deconstructs the hierarchy of “high culture” by filtering it through the association of mass media. Through painting, Sasnal explores his own interpretation and understanding of imagery. Her work constantly questions the space between “personal” and “public”. Thus, he strives to define individual experience within a global order of collective consciousness.