By 1965, Caziel had participated in exhibitions and held commissions throughout Europe and was a well-known and respected painter in Parisian artistic circles. Most notably, he designed the Polish Pavilion for the UNESCO International Exhibition of Modern Art in Paris in 1947 and he had been a regular exhibitor at the Salon de Mai since 1948, alongside Picasso, Léger and other leading Avant-Garde artists.
However, Caziel had yet to cross the Channel and exhibit in England. His chance came in 1964, when Mateusz Grabowski invited him to exhibit at his London gallery. Excited at the prospect, Caziel began creating various works for the 1966 inaugural exhibition. Among these were the series of pastel and pencil drawings presented here, all of which were executed in early 1965.
Caziel's striking series of Compositions are a wonderful testament to the forthcoming spring. With their shard-like striations and cool colours interspersed with smatterings of vividly coloured geometric forms, some are reminiscent of bright, sharp, frosty mornings and others the dusky evenings pricked with lights. Caziel effortlessly explores the interaction of colour and line and the effect of light penetrating and shining through darkness.
This collection of works on paper is indisputable evidence of a mind in the throws of freeing itself from outside influences. Indeed, over the course of the 1960s, Caziel's artistic centre would shift decisively from Paris to Somerset in England. Some of Caziel's contemporaries criticised this shift, calling it a desertion of the Paris Art Scene and accusing him of "indulging in the rural idyll." However, far from plunging him into anonymity, this new setting would help Caziel to flourish both personally and professionally. As compelling today as it was almost 60 years ago, the intensity and confident energy of these drawings is evidence of Caziel's newfound artistic freedom.
