Paul Dmoch

Paul Dmoch was born in Poland and now lives in Belgium. He says this about his work:

I was born in Warsaw in 1958. Even as a child, I remember being obsessed with light. On sleepless nights in my room, I would watch the movement of car lights reflecting from the wall to the ceiling and back. Years later, I was astonished when I saw Rembrandt's use of light for the first time. I remarked, ''This is the LIGHT''. 

At the time, I also believed in fairytales, in the magical worlds I had heard about. I loved to visualise them in my mind. Later on, I understood that all those worlds I created in my mind simply did not exist. I was very disappointed. But then, when I was 12, one of my teachers helped me to discover my passion for architecture. While studying architecture, I realised that I had found what I had been looking for. As architect, I thought I would be able to create a fantastic world with structure, where light could play on forms. 

Unfortunately, I soon discovered that there were many problems that had nothing to do with architecture, problems related to law, money, foolishness of investors, and so on. I became disillusioned with my career.I had never thought of becoming an artist, but I soon realised that painting would offer me the same opportunities to create my own world of light and to share my love to architecture.

Today, painting interiors is my greatest challenge. It is my chance to share with the entire world the 'genius locci' of the places created by human genius. I am not interested in natural subjects, those not been made by human ''hands''. That's why I paint interiors, because there I can find man's glorious mind. 

I especially like to paint cathedrals. I can feel all the mystery of ''another space'', where we sometimes come, but not spend our lifetime. Inside these structures we feel small and not so important as we sometime think we are. We can see that incredible, enormous structure, filled with endless lights pouring through a stained-glass window. Ecclesiastical interiors give us a chance to contemplate our deepest thoughts. There we think no mundane thoughts - we leave them outside. There is a real border between the ''sacred'' and ''profane''. The harmony of light and darkness, showing all the beauty of details and space, make us calm and deeply happy. For me, light and shadow is a metaphor for the everlasting battle between these two basic elements of human existence. In the contrast between light and darkness lies the secret of every human beginning.

Wonderful.

Top to bottom: Divinity School, Oxford; Cistercian Church, Krzeszow, Poland; Church of the Piaristes, Krakow, Poland; Versailles, exterior and Hall of Mirrors; St. Jacques, Anvers; St. Nicholas, Brussels; Westminster Abbey, exterior and Choir; Venice; Door of the Florence Duomo. Below, Santa Maria della Salute, Venice, and then something titled La lumière ne montre pas les choses, elle les choisit.