Roman Opalka

 

texts in German

installation views
a choice of images from
previous exhibitions and
projects.

Selected Bibliograpy

current exhibitions
information about future and
current shows. Most recent publications.

List of Exhibitions jointadventures coverpage


Roman Opalka in
the early seventies


Opalka painting one
of his first 'Details'


'A close up of one
of the 'Details'


Roman Opalka in
the late nineties


Roman's desk in
his studio with a
photo of Delphi's
Auriga and himself


'Opalka's house near
Bordeaux


Opalka in front
of his canvas


Installation in the
Abbaye des Dames
Caen, Bretagne
Winter 98


The Toyota Museum
is the first institution
in Japan to host an
installation by Opalka


The sound of Opalka's
voice countin in Polish
can be heard while ap-
proaching his space


The viewer can sub-
merge in light and
looses any common
points of reference


Japanese text
about the Millenium
project

‘The River of Time'


Artist Roman Opalka has painted “time” exclusively since 1965. Not using symbols as
clocks or calendar dates, he paints a sequence of numbers to represent the passing of
time. The canvas size, height and style of digits never changes. Opalka has now passed
the five million mark with over 200 paintings, spending more than half of his life on this
single oeuvre. It will be completed only when he dies. He records the numbers as he
counts in Polish, his mother tongue, and photographs his face at the end of each day’s
painting session. The number paintings, photos, sound and texts are all elements Opalka
uses for his installations on time. The name of this art work is: OPALKA 1965/ 1-oo

Roman Opalka, born in France in 1931, is a true cosmopolitan and lived in France,
Poland, Berlin and New York. Before setting out on his counting voyage “OPALKA
1965/1-oo”, Opalka removed himself in logical steps from figurative work, searching for
a clear approach to represent the irreversibility of time. His works are in the collections
of the MOMA, The Guggenheim Museum, New York, The National Gallery, Berlin, De
Mesnil Foundation, Houston, Centre G. Pompidou, Paris, Toyota Municipal Museum of
Art, Japan and other institutions. Opalka’s retrospective exhibitions, participation at the
XIX Biennial of Sao Paolo, and the 1995 Venice Biennial, as well as his writing
published in several languages brought him world-wide recognition.

For more details about Roman Opalka’s oeuvre please contact
jointadventures Fax (Japan) +81-(0)52 955 0121,
Tel. (Japan) +81-(0)575-34 8335, Europe +49 (0)171- 642 8080


© 1999 Joint Adventures Art Projects
For further information:
Stephan Köhler
Fax +81-52-955 0121, Tel. +81-575-34 8335