Art will decorate the interior of the building being constructed at the intersection of Marcelińska and Polna Streets in Poznań. This is a new investment by the French-originated developer Eiffage Immobilier Polska. The author of the large-format painting is the Poznań-based artist Szymon Kaczmarek. There are to be more similar initiatives – the developer wants to decorate its investments in other cities and involve artists who are connected to those cities.
Szymon Kaczmarek is called a painter of women – these, apart from nature, are his main inspiration. His painting “Marcelina”, a direct reference to the Poznań address, will decorate the new Marcelińska 18 housing estate. The artist’s work, measuring 200 x 120 cm and executed in acrylic on canvas, was created in less than three weeks. As he explains himself: ” I am an impatient and impetuous painter, so only the quick-drying, broadly coloured acrylic technique keeps up with me. The colour palette of the painting ‘Marcelina’ is his favourite. – These are calm, well-combined colours, which at the same time contrast brilliantly with the woman’s body colours,” Kaczmarek adds.
An estate with art – first a painting, then a mural
Marcelińska 18, which is being constructed at the junction of Jeżyce and Grunwald, in the immediate vicinity of the medical faculties of Poznan’s universities, comprises two buildings with 144 flats ranging in size from 25 to 140 square metres. The design of the buildings has been matched to the nearby buildings, not only in terms of scale and height, but also in terms of elevation – through borrowed details and classic divisions, as it refers to the neighbouring tenement houses from the first half of the 20th century.
In addition, in the well-thought-out common areas of this intimate development, the developer Eiffage Immobilier Polska will create a unique residents’ club for future residents. In its main room, a relaxation zone with comfortable seats and a projector with a large screen has been planned, thanks to which children and their carers will be able to watch a fairy tale or a film. It is here, in the relaxation area above the sofas, that a painting by Szymon Kaczmarek will hang.
The ‘Marcelina’ motif will also be found in the other common areas of the buildings, and in the summer, on the wall located at the boundary of the plot, the artist will create a mural measuring 645 x 250 cm, which is a scaling up of the painting.
Practice straight from France
The idea of supporting local art was taken from France, where, since 2015, paintings, sculptures or installations have been appearing systematically on development sites. This is all thanks to the policy of the Ministry of Culture there to support the work of artists and disseminate art to a wider audience, which the French company Eiffage Immobilier has joined. In Poland, developers carry out this kind of activity on their own. This noble practice, following the French Eiffage Immobilier, is now being followed by Eiffage Immobilier Poland, and Poznań is not the only city where the developer is expressing its approach to social responsibility.
– Our investments, which we create with the greatest care, are the ideal place for art. The spacious common areas in our development projects allow for the appropriate display of paintings or sculptures, so that Eiffage’s investments take on a concrete character. Art sensitises and provides a positive experience for residents
and their visitors. Understood in this way, it not only allows us to experience it more deeply, but also provides support and promotion for local artists,’ explains Tymon Nowosielski, president of Eiffage Immobilier Polska.
Eiffage investments with works by local artists
Eiffage Immobilier Polska already has several interesting realisations created in cooperation with local artists. In the Dom przy Źródle (House at the Spring) investment in Kraków’s Stare Podgórze, architecture students created the installation “The Spring of Podgórze”. In Warsaw, in turn, thanks to Tomasz Bernat’s free transfer of copyrights to the “I love Praga” sign, a mural characteristic of this part of the capital was recreated on the façade of a building at 27 Stalowa Street. In Wrocław, an installation of mirrors by the artist and innovator Oskar Zięta, made using his proprietary FiDU (Freie Innendruck Umformungm, ‘forming with internal pressure’) technology, was hung in the lobby of the modern HB1820 building in Przedmieście Oławskie.
source: press materials of Eiffage Immobilier Polska
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