The compositions, while maintaining an avoidance of narrative do investigate conceptual elements. The foundation of Szymanski’s interest and practice in painting is the idea of ‘purposelessness’ a concept similar to play. The artist views this as an experiential attitude arrived at through the process of making and viewing his work. The paintings are slowly developed over a duration of time without an end goal. Through this neglect of logical method and dismissal of linear structure the work becomes self-informed, intuitive and perceptual. The subject of the paintings is a quiet and experiential engagement. This may be likened to the concept of ‘Aware’, a Japanese idea in which a viewer arrives at an awareness of the ephemeral beauty of a world essentially marked by change and an aversion to definition.
