The project we are presenting in our book covers our participation in what are presently the leading art world events. Yet my original idea was quite different and was born in the spring of 2016, during one of our conversations. As an independent curator and art historian, I proposed to the artist Przemysław Przepióra that we create a joint project called Performance on the Road. The performances were to be carried out in the Baltic capitals: Stockholm, Helsinki, Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius, in that order. Owing to a lack of sponsors, this idea fell through. A year later, Przemysław confided in me his dream, that he had always wanted to take part in the Venice Art Biennale. I said: Let’s do it! We were better off financially at that time and could carry out the project with our own funds. That was the beginning of Performance on the Road. Our first success at the Venice Art Biennale confirmed we were headed down the right path and gave us the courage to visit other important art world events. Thus, in only two and a half years, we made it to Venice (Art Biennale 2017), Kassel (14 Documenta 2017), Madrid (ARCOmadrid 2018), Basel (Art Basel 2018), Paris (FIAC Art Fair 2018), New York (Performa 19 Biennial 2019), and Miami (Art Basel Miami Beach 2019). The principles we adhered to throughout the project meant working without invitations and without outside financial support, and doing a performance on the day of the opening or closing of the event. The aim was to defy the art world’s rules with regard to the roles of the artist and curator. This meant the official institutions were bypassed, art was created in the public space and left to the viewer to evaluate; collaboration between curator and artist led to creating a new model, unlike existing art duos.

We should stress that our actions have no political, social, or economic context and cannot be read in terms of the artist’s and curator’s descent, gender, or age. The development of the field of art and bringing painting to a new level of creativity is at the heart of Przemysław Przepióra’s art and puts him in a lineage of artists who broke with traditional easel painting and went beyond the surface of the picture to become part of the global art history. The Performance on the Road project steps outside of the safety zone to find its artistic identity and confront the art world. After all his years of work, experience, and exploration the artist understood he was ready to take the next step and set off into the world with his art.

Katarzyna E. Szulc, PhD