Formiści. Pomiędzy tradycją a awangardą

Formists were the first avant-garde movement in Polish art that integrated the creators coming from various artistic milieus: Krakow, Warsaw and Lvov. The members of the group on principle rejected Naturalism and Impressionism and took their inspiration from Expressionism, Cubism, and Futurism. Nevertheless, apart from the works that presented purposeful deformation of form, color and space, the painters created works drawing from both classical and folk art. This current was particularly visible in the paintings by Tymon Niesiolowski, Jacek Mierzejewski, Eugeniusz Zak and Roman Kramsztyk, the oeuvres of whom inscribed in the realm of New Classicism. This turn towards classical patterns, frequently connected with the interest in the antiquity, did not mean the return to academic patterns, but expressed the rediscovery and reinterpretation of those patterns. The fascination with universal values, frequently referring to the art of the past ages, was reflected in the works by the artists forming the moderate wing of the group and became visible in the works by Leon Chwisek, Zbigniew Pronaszko and Jan Hrynkowski, who represented the avant-garde branch of Formists. Folk art became another important source of inspiration; among artists who particularly frequently referred to it were Tytus Czyzewski, Konrad Winkler and Wladyslaw Roguski.