Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Roman Opalka 1965/1 - ∞

“My death is the logical and emotional proof of the completion of my work.”


“Opalka’s work, a methodical transcription of the passing of time, is circumscribed within his own life and will end only with the artist’s death. When the last of the painted numbers will not be followed by another one and the counting will be interrupted. This will leave the work not unfinished, but perfect.” (Marco Pierini)

Monday, August 8, 2011

The Polish painter Roman Opalka died aged 79

The Polish painter Roman Opalka, renowned for his study of the progression of time, has died in hospital in Italy aged 79, his agent said on Saturday.


Opalka was primarily known for his work “1965/1 to infinity”, a series of works he began producing that year featuring numbers counting upwards from one, a process he described on his official website as “recording a progression that both documents time and also defines it.”

Opalka, who had lived in France for more than 30 years, was taken ill several days ago while on holiday and died on Saturday, his agent Slawomir Boss was quoted as saying by Polish media reports.

Born in France in 1931 to Polish parents, Opalka and his family went back to Poland in 1935 but were deported to Germany by the Nazis in 1940. He settled in France in 1977 after spells living back in Poland, Germany and the United States.

His works can be found in the permanent collections of the Pompidou Centre in Paris and New York’s Museum of Modern Art among others.