“Golden Hour: The Pulse of the City and the Forest” — an exhibition of works by Agnieszka Leszczyńska was held on 10 April.
The exhibition was a painterly record of the identity of a native Varsovian, whose sensitivity is divided between the dynamic heart of the capital and the silence of the forests on the outskirts of Warsaw. The watercolours on display portrayed Warsaw as a city of lights, reflections, and memories — from the iconic “Krówki” neon sign of the Bambino Milk Bar to the afterimages of rain-soaked streets and the glow of lights beneath the Palace of Culture.
This urban energy found its continuation in abstract forest landscapes, inspired by the artist’s everyday contact with nature. A distinctive feature of the works was the use of gold ink, ochre, and original textures, which replaced traditional greens and created an impression of luminosity, transience, and the immaterial quality of memory.
Present in both series, gold became a symbol of the “golden hour” — that fleeting moment when the glow of neon lights and the sunlight filtering through the treetops seem to speak the same language. The exhibition told a story about the rhythm of life, a sentimental attachment to one’s birthplace, and an attentiveness to light pulsing both in the city and in the stillness of the forest.
The exhibited works did not strive for photorealism. Instead, they were subtle records of a moment and a mood — deliberately understated, hazy, and softly blurred, like afterimages lingering beneath closed eyelids. They reflected the way memory works: specific places and neon signs remain recognisable, yet their outlines fade, giving way to emotion.
