Tomasz Żołnierkiewicz

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Painter, graphic artist, poster artist, teacher of many generations of artists, professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. In 1955–1961, he studied at the Painting Department of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. He graduated with honours under the guidance of Professor Artur Nacht-Samborski. After graduation, he pursued his academic career at the university. He collaborated with many important artists of the post-war painting, e.g., as an assistant to Professor Stefan Gierowski. He became a living legend of the Faculty of Painting, where he worked for over half a century until 2006. He was a versatile artist: he drew, painted oils, watercolours, and gouache, made graphics and posters. He designed everyday prints, like propaganda posters for Labour Day or July 22nd, which earned him many awards. He had a particular interest in formal considerations. His body of work includes abstract paintings; Lettrist, Constructivist and relief compositions as well as Tachisme-inspired art. The paintings reveal his fascinations with different topics across his career. His geometric abstractions evoke space, heavenly bodies, and astrology. The artist was also inspired by classical music (Chopin and Bach in particular), trying to transform the language of sounds into images. Żołnierkiewicz produced a large body of written paintings, meaning entire stretches of canvases covered with handwriting, with words superimposed onto earlier writing to form illegible palimpsests. His works were exhibited in many countries, including the United States, France, Belgium, and Germany.