Pawel Żak

Pawel Żak’s contemporary photographs of timeless still lifes offer a unique insight into a minimalist world of sophisticated and poetic composition.

From drawing to photography, the beginnings of a journey

Pawel Żak was born in 1965 in Warsaw (Poland), where he still lives and works. He developed a keen interest in the visual arts at a very early age, which initially materialised in his desire to paint. At sixth-form college, he juggled different means of expression: drawing, writing and photography. At the time, he used it mainly to document his day-to-day life. He took photos of his family and friends. He limited himself to being a witness to reality.

After sixth form, Pawel Żak studied social sciences at Warsaw University and graduated from the School of Fine Arts in Poznan. At the same time, he continued his photography and enrolled in the Study of Photography, organised by the Association of Polish Art Photographers.

“Tales”, the first series of photographs by Pawel Żak

At the end of the 1990s, Pawel Żak’s best-known series “Tales” – which launched his career on the Polish and then international photographic scene – was born by chance. Through experimentation, the artist selected objects from around him and arranged them in a modest setting: a pear and a piece of cardboard, for example. When the artist made the first prints of these attempts, he was disappointed. So he left the negatives on the ground. A few weeks later, Pawel Żak picked them up again and placed them in the enlarger. The prints became much darker. Traces of dust and scratches appeared. These accidents add depth and mystery to the photographs. This marked the beginning of the ‘Tales’ series and his work on still lifes.
Commenting on the ‘Tales’ series, Pawel Żak also notes: “I felt that it was only through a fabricated image that I could fully express myself. I’m interested in reality, but to speak from the heart, I need an image that I’ve created and that I can control perfectly.”

Adam Mazur, curator, points out: “Still life in photography is a double death of things. First of all, nature dies and is transformed into art through composition and abstraction. Since photography is dead in essence, it can immobilise both the processes of growth and decay. This paradox is the basis of Paweł Żak’s artworks“.

“An image appears in my mind that doesn’t yet have any meaning.”

Each of Pawel Żak’s photographs begins with an image.The artist explains that he feels like a medium gifted with intuitions in visual form: “An image appears in my mind and does not yet have a meaning. At least, I don’t understand it at the time. It’s not a visualised thought, it’s an image that I can only try to read. I sketch it out and sometimes I understand it straight away. Sometimes not so much. I don’t know what it means yet. It’s only later that its meaning comes to me.” These photographs are the result of a slow process, which often begins with a sketch capturing this first impression and then attempting to interpret it.
The contemporary photographer does not appear in his work. And yet the viewer feels his discreet but constant presence in each of his works. Indeed, Pawel Żak’s view of the image of a reality that he himself has created bears witness to his sensitivity and illustrates his vision of the world.

Minimalist, dreamlike photographic tableaux

Pawel Żak’s works are photographic tableaux depicting inanimate objects from the domestic environment (fruit, flowers, toys, etc.), a choice that reflects the originality of his approach. While still life is a classic genre in the history of painting, it is less common in contemporary photography, where the emphasis is more on portraits, landscapes and street photography.

Pawel Żak also draws his inspiration from the history of art: 17th-century Dutch painting, famous for its still lifes rich in detail and symbolism. Abstract and Japanese art also feed into his work.

Recognition and exhibitions

Pawel Żak’s photographs have been the subject of numerous exhibitions around the world. His works are part of prestigious public collections such as the National Museum in Warsaw, the Centre for Contemporary Art in Warsaw, the Lodz Art Museum and the BNF in Paris. He has also won numerous awards for his work, including the highly prestigious Broncolor Prize for Light at the European Photography Competition in Vevey, Switzerland, in 1998 for his “Tales” series.