“For me, walking, or wandering, is a source of inspiration and insight, as well as a subject in itself. I treat the city and the movement within it as a situation akin to the realities of the human psyche. An interior, a room, a bend, a hill, a river, an intersection—any urban or topographic structure—can have its reference, for example, in an attempt to imagine an emotional state. Leaving and entering a state carries spatial connotations. The walk becomes more of an existential than a real journey, hence the many references to cinematic-dream vision.”

Patryk Staruch

Patryk Staruch (he/his, born 1999) is a Polish artist who explores the parallels between urban topography and the complexities of the human psyche, emphasizing the myth-making role of film and photography. His artistic practice bears the hallmarks of autobiography, blurred by cultural layers. Fascinated by the French New Wave, he examines the limitations and pitfalls of everyday life, using flaneurism as a primary means of narrating the city and social relations. Night plays a significant role in his paintings, representing a time when it is easiest to confront oneself or another, allowing an escape from the daily attention deficit.

A graduate of the Faculty of Painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow. He was a finalist in the 46th and 47th Bielska Jesień Painting Biennials and the KAF Young Art Prize 2024.