We are probably all looking forward to meeting together and participating in artistic events after so long spent shut away in our homes,. Yes, that freedom is not far away! After all, the government has announced that from the beginning of May, it will reopen cultural institutions, as well as many other sectors of the economy. From May 4, art galleries and museums will be open with certain restrictions and sanitary measures in place to keep everyone safe. The easing of the restrictions, which will take place on May 29, will enable us to kick off our rich and varied program of cultural events for this year and we will be keeping you informed about everything that will be there for you to enjoy.
The very first event will surely attract crowds of art lovers, and we are confident that we can accommodate everyone, while maintaining the sanitary rules and taking care of the health of our visitors. The long-awaited inaugural opening of our Artistic Cafe Cosma Sopot will be marked by an exhibition by Marek Okrassa, an extremely well-known and respected artist from Sopot. Marek Okrassa is a well-established painter whose work enjoys great recognition.
An extremely accurate description of the artist’s work was presented by the famous Gdańsk writer Paweł Huelle: Even a brief moment of communing with Marek Okrassa’s paintings allows us to capture a specific, consciously chosen system of signs and references. By presenting a white automobile rushing at dizzying speed, a dancing couple or a jazz trumpeter, using similar motifs in many variants and versions, the young artist creates his own commentary on our contemporary identity. We are in the middle of a mass consumer society, only seen not through the prism of the current agora – a hypermarket, but at the beginning of this process.
So we will be extremely honored to present the works of this timeless artist in our exhibition spaces in Sopot. Marek Okrassa’s paintings will surely inspire many of us to reflect on the enormous changes taking place in society in the face of the pandemic. Coronavirus has become a challenge for modern society, and the pandemic has affected almost every element of our lives, contributing to unprecedented changes in social, cultural and consumption patterns.
MAREK OKRASSA (born in 1975) has twice received a scholarship from the Minister of Culture and Art. He studied painting in the studio of prof. Henryk Cześnik and prof. Maciej Świeszewski. In 1999, he received a diploma with honors from the Academy of Fine Arts in painting and drawing. Dissertation: Surrealism in contemporary Polish painting, Supervisor: prof. Maciej Świeszewski, Illustrative appendix: prof. Maria Targońska.
In the years 2000-2002 he taught classes at the 1st degree extramural studies in the field of film, television and photography at the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk. He deals with painting, drawing, press illustration, design graphics, posters, photography and serigraphy. He lives and works in Sopot, where for many years he has been cooperating with the City Hall and the State Art Gallery in the implementation of a number of cultural projects.