Meet Singapore-based Artist Marcin Bernard Biesek
MARCIN BERNARD BIESEK is a visual artist (painting, sculpture) living in Singapore. He was born in Poland and has also lived in the U.K. Visit his website to view his work.
CATHOLIC ARTIST CONNECTION: Do you call yourself a Catholic artist?
MARCIN BERNARD BIESEK: I don’t call myself a Catholic artist. However, I follow the Catholic Church and doctrine. As an artist, I observe the world, nature and humans in the universe created by God. I am called to be the apostle of Christ, serving Him through my talents, and to talk about nice and unpleasant things through art.
Where have you found support in the Church for your vocation as an artist?
If I think about the Church I mostly think about my community; family, friends and teachers and members of the St. Charles Borromeo choir in Hull and more recently DVC Youth Choir members at Church of St Ignatius in Singapore. Few priests allowed me to display my art on church premises also create statues (Fr. Janusz Witkowski, RIP), sometimes make conservation and restoration of broken crucifixes at their churches.
My local parish priests in Czarna Woda were very supportive in a way such that they organised art competitions, which were my small but first achievements and stepping stones in my journey as an artist.
The Dominican convent at Bazylika Św. Mikołaja in Gdansk has also been a huge support and played a impactful role in my growth as an artist and person in Christ, using my talents to help, to reach out to the masses and to continually develop through opportunities however big and small.
Thank you for all your support. But I do hope for more opportunities to work with our Church to contribute using my talents to create contemporary that may help one to mediate on the mysteries of God, or even work on a conservation project beyond just creating works of decorative art alone. Being able to use art to reach out to the people who attend the church, bringing crisis at a distance closer to home through my work so as to allow our people to realise the poverty in our humanity, and hope they will be moved to help and innovate sustainable contribution to spread the love of our Gospel and to share what we have even if it is little, it can make a huge difference to the world. Such as my Bystandars series, in hopes to provoke our being and our role in our society today. Are we just watching or doing something about it?
For someone who grew up in Poland during the post war and communism period, my family has so much stories to share about their challenges and what we underwent as a country. One person who is so evil can decide to take a nation. But what if the nation stood together in unity and courage as one, could we have defeated the evil or even not allow the evil to prevail or have confidence to uproot and put us in upheaval? We need to be people of Christ and reach out and come out of our role as everyday bystanders.
Art is never in isolation. It is transcultural and discipline. Artists like would benefit from good representation and opportunities to allow us to develop and continually make work of art that are altruistic and captivating through the aesthetics. Art that has a voice that is not singular but sung in harmony like a choir.
Where have you found support among your fellow artists for your Catholic faith?
My first art teacher encouraged me to read the Bible, and he was my first artistic and spiritual mentor.
How can the Church be more welcoming to artists?
The Church should organise open art competitions to bring spirituality into visual art. In my local parish, in the church premises there was a gallery and priest-organised competitions about the angels and Bible stories. In the Singapore Catholic community, there is a competition each year organised for local Catholic artists. Parishes should organise festival events at Christmas and Easter to help market artworks and get funding to help low-income families in the parish. (For example, 10-30% of each sold artwork could go to charity.)
How can the artistic world be more welcoming to artists of faith?
As Catholic Artists, we need to be open to facing difficult topics in art to be seen as equals and universal. John Paul II was, for me, a person with great charisma, open to every person and problem. As a Catholic Artist, I feel I need to be also like John Paul II. The art world is very competitive, and fresh ideas are most welcome by the audience. Apart from being fresh, artists need to propose good art which includes beauty, virtues and technical skills.
Do you recommend any particular parishes for their sacramental life, beauty, and/or community?
St. Mary of The Angels (Singapore)
St. Nicholas Basilica (Gdansk, Poland)
DVC Youth Choir at Church of St. Ignatius (Singapore)
Holy Trinity Church in Gdansk (Poland)
Holy Mother of Częstochowa Catholic Church in Czarna Woda (Poland)
St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Hull (UK)
Where in Singapore do you regularly find artistic fulfillment?
Nature, conversation with friends, my own family (wife and daughter), Bible study.
How have you found or built community as a Catholic artist in Singapore?
I was singing in the choir, meeting people after Holy Mass.
What is your daily spiritual practice?
Personal prayer, Bible study, Holy Mass, Communion. I contact my spiritual director from St. Ignatius Catholic Church in Singapore. I like talk with priests about faith, confession, retreats, going to church, and adoration.
What is your daily artistic practice?
Adoration and attending mass to receive communion, not just on Sundays, but daily if possible. Personal prayer, Bible studies. Conversations with my wife and my friends from multicultural background and faith. I also used to have a spiritual director who I continuously met to gain insights and perspectives. Recently I have been meeting with my spiritual director Fr. Chris Soh from St. Ignatius Catholic Church in Singapore. Meeting him was a delight, whether in the spirit of consolation or desolation, it was a privilege to gain from his spiritual wisdom, constant encouragement and questions that probe deep reflection. I enjoy talking with the priests about faith, going for confession often and attending retreats. Now it is much tougher to attend retreats having a family of my own, this time I put aside for spiritual direction is very crucial and I benefit from it.
How do you afford housing and financially support yourself as an artist?
It is not easy. Apart from creating art and selling direct or through online portals it’s hard without a part-time or full-time job.
To achieve the comfort of being sustainable artist it will take a while of hard work, advertising, networking sometimes volunteering to show yourself as a practising artist in the market.
Sometimes I need to be flexible and create more public art like memorial’s, crests, murals or take part in competitions to be financially stable as an artist. All is rewarding and “we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
What are your top 3 pieces of advice for Catholic artists post-graduation?
To paint contemporary artworks, find an art group, and take part in exhibition / competitions.