Objects

Jankiel Adler (1895–1949) in 1919-1920, together with Marek Szwarc, Moishe Brodersona, Icchak V. Brauner and Henryk Barciński, was a founder of the avant-garde group Yung-Yidish, and a coauthor of the Jung Idysz almanac edited by the group, where he published not only his prints but also articles on Jewish art, i.a. about Marc Chagall. In 1919, Adler moved to Germany, where he became a member of the artistic avant-garde concentrated around Paula Klee, who was appointed the profesor of the Academy of Fine Arts in Düsseldorf in 1931, and received an atelier next to Adler’s. Klee inspired Adler to search for new solutions in painting; one of Adlers works from that period is Kompozycja [Composition] created in a complicated innovative technique. Barbara Brus-Malinowska wrote in her expertise: "The presented painting […] is a logical continuation of Adler’s art, influenced by the rich, new experiences and – no doubt – theoretical deliberations of both artists. That unique ‘lesson’ on abstract painting had a significant influence on Jankiel Adler’s later works".

After Hitler came to power, both Klee and Adler fled Germany as the representatives of the so called "degenerated art". Adler stayed in Poland (he exhibited his works in Warsaw in 1935) and in Paris. After World War II broke out, he volunteered for the Polish army in France, which later took him to Great Britain.

Stefan Themerson, who knew Adler in London, wrote about his painting: "So I call them ‘objects of art’, not ‘works of art’, to acknowledge the fact that Adler’s paintings are objects. Objects, that can be and should be held in hand. […] In Adler’s case the argument of touching, the sensation of coming in touch with the surface of the canvas is of crucial importance. […] With his craft, with the thick, heavy matter of paint that objectifies the painting, Jankiel Adler convinces us that the work really exists ".

Renata Piątkowska