Now resident in France Tadeus Jaroszynski work has always been pitched somewhere within his European roots and his years spent in South Africa. Born in Yugoslavia to Polish Finnish parents; Jaroszynski received his training as an artist in Helsinki where he also met his wife Karin. They subsequently relocated to South Africa in the late 1950's, where they carved out a unique artist's niche for themselves.


Flooded with a gentle melancholia and nostalgia that is associated with the artists Eastern European past, and a quality of light, colour and form that is reminiscent of the Northern European painting tradition, these figures stand before a luminous karoo landscape with a single windmill. But their gazes are averted from the landscape, suggesting that it is not the site of their meditative attention, but that they are recalling or dreaming of other places and other times.

Walking into the Oppenheimer library in the University of Cape Town two things are noticeable. Firstly, the fact that the old architecture outside masks the freshly painted, "new" finish of a place that holds such much intellectual content brought together over a considerable period of time. Secondly, the fact that this area is surrounded by a relatively vast art collection.


Browsing through the collection, I am drawn to various works but one sticks out from others. It is not even particularly accessible as obstructing the work are students and desks. As part of the collection, its appeal lies in its overwhelming serenity. There are no hard lines or dramatic statements being made. Rather it appeals because of how much it invokes one's own experience of certain feelings. The low-key bustle of the university library is a reminder of reality and of how easy it really is to be carried away to another place by a medium. Flanking it are large...