"Road, Nature, Memory" – Exhibition of Marian Kępiński's Works at Uniwersytecka Galeria Wozownia

This exhibition is the latest installment in a series dedicated to outstanding educators connected to Łódź's academic community. Kępiński remained faithful to his own artistic language, independent of changing trends. He created a quiet, contemplative world based on careful observation of reality, while remaining open to the intuitive, invisible, and metaphysical. The exhibition title points to three key themes in his work. Road refers to both biography and artistic maturation, as well as spiritual searching for meaning and order. Nature is not merely a subject of his paintings, but a space where humanity encounters something greater than itself. Landscapes, solitary trees, stones, light, and empty spaces become carriers of concentration, wonder, and questions about the mystery of existence. Memory also plays an important role, evoked through recollection of his native Kamionka – the place of his childhood and spiritual roots. As noted by exhibition curator Dr. hab. Aneta Pawłowska, Prof. UŁ, Kamionka returns in his paintings as an "inner landscape – a space of memory, emotion, and primary experiences of contact with nature." In Kępiński's work, ordinary elements of reality transcend their literal meaning: a well becomes a sign, a road becomes a metaphor for searching, and light takes on spiritual significance. This is art that invites one to pause, look carefully, and have a personal experience. Galeria Wozownia, ul. M. Skłodowskiej 11