1973 born in Gdańsk
2004 graduated from the Painting Department of the Cracow Fine Arts Academy.
2005 3rd prize winner at the "Bielska Jesień" biennial of painting in Bielsko-Biała
2006 scholarship stay at the Vermont Studio Center - Full Fellowship Award
The painterly look of Bartek Materka is directed at the everyday visual adventures, but he especially concentrates on the deformations which the image of reality undergoes in our consciousness. Materka's works, which are usually created on the basis of photographs, are an analysis of the optical apparatus and the influences exerted on it by modern optic technologies and the methods of generating images (digital picture, television, microscopes, ASCII code). Another inspiration for the artist are the deformations of related to neurological disorders. Also predominant is the question of emotions from private life - the heroes of Materka's paintings are usually people from his closest milieu. Often these are exactly the emotions generated by the relations which find visualization in the paintings. This distorts both the paintings and images, overclouds them, makes them come apart and imposes one on top of the other, which, in turn, demands that different perspectives of perception and understanding be employed.
WORKS IN COLLECTIONS:
- MOCAK Museum of Contemporary Art, Cracow, PL
- Susan and Michael Hort Collection, New York, US
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2021
- That's What it Looks Like, Bunkier Sztuki, Cracow, PL
2016
- Leso, Mathare Art Gallery, Nairobi, KE
2013
- Adjacent Rooms, Galerie Virginie Louvet, Paris, FR
- Gdzie masz czapkę?, Kronika Centrum Sztuki Współczesnej, Bytom, PL
2012
- Szkice filmowe, Raster Editions, Warszawa, PL
- Bartek Materka - Painting, Platan Gallery, Budapest, HU
2010
- Bartek Materka. On a single breath, Galerie Wolfgang Gmyrek, Düsseldorf, DE
- Klatka / Cage, Bunkier Sztuki, Kraków, PL
2009
- Canal, The Warsaw Uprising Museum, Warszawa, PL
2008
- Sezon grzewczy, No Local Foundation, Kraków, PL
2007
- Nie pamiętam jak miała na imię / I don't remember her name, Raster, Warszawa, PL
- Wszystko cieknie / Everything Leaks (with Joanna Pawlik), Czarna Gallery, Warszawa, PL
2005
- Austrian Cultural Forum, Warszawa, PL
- Unfortunate day 1.09.2005, Fabryka Schindlera, Kraków, PL
2004
- What did you see in this park? - Nothing, Raster, Warszawa, PL
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2021
- Ice Saints, Raster, Warsaw, PL
- Fryz i emblemat, Fundacja Razem Pamoja, Warszawa, PL
2016
- Flow / Powrót Suma (Flow / The Catfish Return), Księgarnia | Wystawa, Kraków, PL
- L’arte differente: MOCAK al MAXXI, MAXXI - National Museum of XXI Century Arts, Rome, IT
2015
- Project Metropolis, Muzeum Śląskie, Katowice, PL
2014
- Manifestacje romantyczne (Romantic manifestations), BWA “Sokol” Gallery of Contemporary Art, Nowy Sacz, PL
- Zbrodnia w sztuce (Crime in Art), Museum of Contemporary Art, Kraków, PL
2013
- Bajeczne są rzeczy przyziemne, gdy dotknie je ręka geniusza, Galeria Kordegarda, Warszawa, PL
- Powrót do domu (Return Home), Angel Wawel, Kraków, PL
2012
- Urwany Film (Broken Movie), BWA Awangarda, Wrocław, PL
2011
- The MOCAK Collection, MOCAK, Kraków, PL
- Historie Ucha (Stories of the Ear), Zacheta—The National Gallery of Art, Warszawa, PL
2010
- Ostatni Film (The Last Film), Raster, Warszawa, PL
- Katolicy w Kronice (Catholics in Kronika), Kronika, Bytom, PL
2009
- Fancy Success, Prague Biennale 4, Prague, CZ
- Fancy Success, Bunkier Sztuki, Kraków, PL
2008
- Portret własny. Prace z kolekcji Piotra Bazylko i Krzysztofa Masiewicza, Centre for Contemporary Art, Warszawa, PL
2006
- Polish painting of the XXIst century, Zacheta—National Gallery of Art, Warszawa, PL
- Is it better to be a good artist or a good person, Rental Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
2005
- Revenge on realism, Krinzinger Projekte, Vienna, A
- 37. Biennale Malarstwa 'Bielska Jesień 2005', Galeria Bielska BWA, Bielsko-Biała, PL
- Chora Flora, Od Nowa Club, Torun, PL
ONLINE
- Why I Paint, “Phaidon.com”, 10/2016 (EN)
- Platan Gallery, Budapest: The Cloud Has Moved, "Artclue", 05.02.2012 (EN)
- Marta Lisok, Silna migrena, "Dwutygodnik.com", 03.2010 (PL)
GROUP EXHIBITION CATALOGS AND FOLDERS
- Zbrodnia w sztuce (Crime in Art), cat., Museum of Contemporary Art, Cracow, 2014 (PL, EN)
- Raster. L'artista nella rinunicia 2. Transfert Gallerie Polacche a Roma 3, Istituto Polacco di Roma, Warsaw, 2008
- Malarstwo polskie XXI w. / Polish Painting of the 21st Century, Zachęta The National Gallery of Art, Warsaw, 2006 (polish, english)
- Bielska Jesień 2005. Biennale malarstwa, Bielska Gallery BWA, Bielsko-Biala, 2005
REVIEWS, ARTICLES
- Marcin Doktor Polak, Wrażenia z "Powrotu do domu", obieg.pl, 19.04.2013
- Piotr Sarzyński, Współczucie pod młotkiem, "Sztuka.pl. Gazeta Antykwaryczna", nr 5 (134), maj 2007
- Patrycja Musiał, Małgorzata Mleczko, Materka dla Beethovena, "Art Aktualia", 24.03.2008
- Jakub Banasiak, Czarno to widzę, "Krytykant.pl", 21.09.2007
- Łukasz Gazur, Młode sztuki z Krakowa, "Sztuka.pl. Gazeta Antykwaryczna", no 12/1 (129/130), grudzień 2006/styczeń 2007, pp. 14-17
- Jan Picheta, Młoda Jesień, "Format", nr 48/2005, pp. 69-71
- Stach Szabłowski, Powiększenie Niczego, "Życie Warszawy. Po godzinach", no 44(61), 04.11.2004
BOOKS
- Jakub Banasiak, Czarno to widzę, [in:] Rewolucjoniści są zmęczeni. Wybór tekstów 2006-2008, Otwarta Pracownia, Cracow 2008, p. 118 - 121.
- Tekstylia bis. Słownik młodej polskiej kultury, Krakow 2006, p. 598