Adam Marczyński, INDUSTRIAL LANDSCAPE, second half of the 1930s

56 x 45 cm - oil on canvas

signed lower right: Adam Marczyński

The painting “Industrial Landscape,” presented at the exhibition, was created shortly after the artist completed his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków, during which time he was loosely associated with the avant-garde, politically engaged circle of the Kraków Group. This unrealistic, somber depiction of an industrial city embodies an element of social sensitivity characteristic of the Group’s members: in it, Marczyński portrays a scene from the life of the working class, which in the 1930s was severely affected by the economic crisis in Poland. The artist approaches the subject in a personal, original way: he paints it in a large format, draws on Post-Impressionism, employs simplified, synthetic forms, and seeks to create an impact through color and texture. (https://nigdywiecej.artmuseum.pl/pl/artysta/adam-marczynski)




The painting has been exhibited, mentioned, and reproduced in, among others: Exhibited:
– Never Again: Art Against War and Fascism in the 20th and 21st Centuries, Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, Warsaw, August 30–November 17, 2019.
♣ Droit de suite: ♣ An additional fee will be added to the Purchase Price pursuant to the right of the artist and his heirs to receive remuneration in accordance with the Act of February 4, 1994, on Copyright and Related Rights (droit de suite).

Adam Marczyński (Kraków 1908 – Kraków 1985) studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków from 1930 to 1936 under Prof. Władysław Jarocki and Stanisław Pieńkowski. He received his diploma in 1936. During his studies, he traveled to France and Spain (1930); after graduating, he traveled to France (1936). From 1933 to 1934, he was associated with the “Krakow Group” (the so-called “first” group), with which he exhibited twice. He also designed stage sets for the “Cricot” theater. He spent the early years of World War II in Lviv. He returned to Kraków in 1941. After the war, he began teaching at the Academy of Fine Arts (from 1945; professor in 1951; dean of the Faculty of Painting from 1970 to 1972; retired in 1979). At the same time, he once again joined the circle of artists centered around Tadeusz Kantor and Maria Jarema, who in 1957 founded the so-called “Second Kraków Group.” Marczyński remained a member of the group and exhibited with it until the end of his life. He worked in painting, drawing, set design, printmaking, and book illustration. He also created polychrome murals in churches. In the 1950s, he created Cubist-inspired paintings with a bright color palette, suggesting scenes that were neither quite landscapes nor underwater vistas, characterized by a poetic, surreal mood reminiscent of the art of Paul Klee and Joan Miró. His drawings from that period, executed with a delicate line, harmonized with the style of his paintings. From around 1960, he produced a series of objects titled *Konkrety* (*Concretes*), referencing material painting, in which he used sheets of plywood or veneer as his medium, roofing felt, and, less frequently, sheet metal, which were additionally subjected to various treatments, such as scorching, surface damage, etc. From the mid-1960s onward, he created objects with variable elements—constructed from freely arranged “boxes” with hinged lids. Different configurations of their angles created varying rhythms within the overall composition. The artist exhibited extensively, including at the Olympic Exhibition in London in 1948 (honorable mention and diploma), the Venice Art Biennale in 1956, the 2nd and 3rd Exhibitions of Modern Art in Warsaw in 1957 and 1959, the 2nd International Print Biennale in Ljubljana in 1957 (honorary award), the São Paulo Art Biennial in 1959 and Documenta in Kassel in 1959, the “Złote Grono” Symposia in Zielona Góra in 1963 and 1965, and the 1st Biennial of Spatial Forms in Elbląg in 1965.