Juliusz Narzyński

Juliusz Narzyński (1934, Warsaw - 2020, Warsaw) belonged to the first post-thaw generation of Polish painters. In 1959 he graduated with distinction from the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts in the studio of Artur Nacht-Samborski, and in 1963 he co-created the Rekonesans group - a formation of artists of his generation who, in the uncertain times just after Socialist Realism, joined together to make their mark on the scene while preserving their creative independence. Narzyński remained faithful to the principle of freedom in art all his life.

In 1967-1973 he ran the Old Town Gallery of Contemporary Art in Warsaw, taking it over after Marian Bogusz and his Krzywe Koło and consistently promoting avant-garde, abstract and expressive art, taking care of his colleagues' exhibition success. From 1973 he took over a painting studio at the State Higher School of Fine Arts in Łódź (today the Władysław Strzemiński Academy of Fine Arts), where he became a professor. In 1970 he stayed on a scholarship of the Dutch government, and in 1969 he received the C.K. Norwid Art Criticism Award.

Narzyński's painting, situated between abstraction and figuration, is counted by critics within the tradition of Surrealism: these are poetic, surreal landscapes in which fantasy builds another reality full of mystery, colours and symbols that force the viewer to decipher the hidden messages. Despite numerous awards he remained at a distance from wide popularity. He took part in over 200 exhibitions in Poland and abroad (including the Galerie Lambert in Paris, the Zachęta, Edinburgh, Monte Carlo); his works are in the National Museums in Warsaw, Poznań, Kielce, Gdańsk and Szczecin and in the Zachęta.