acrylic on canvas, 18 x 24 cm;
signed and dated along the upper edge: P.KLUZA / 2024;
signed, dated, and stamped by the artist on the reverse
Paweł Kluza (born September 14, 1983, in Siedlce)—a brilliant successor to the artistic legacy of Nikifor and Edward Dwurnik. A painter of the most beautiful cities and a world that does not exist. He spent his childhood in southern Poland; constant moves eventually led him to settle in the picturesque town of Żarki Letnisko, located in the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland, whose surrounding landscape resembles a seaside resort. It was there that Kluza created his first drawings, which have survived to this day and date back to 1988. In the 1990s, he sought his own creative path. It was during this period that he produced his first oil paintings.
The artist dates the beginning of his artistic career to 2004. At that time, the premiere of the film *My Nikifor* took place as part of the Gdynia Film Festival. It was then that he first encountered the figure of Epifaniusz Drowniak, known as Nikifor. His fascination with the Krynica Master was so strong that he created his first pencil drawings right during the screening, and the very next day, his first watercolors inspired by the Master’s work emerged from his brush. From that moment on, Kluza devoted his entire life to painting. The following years were a time of traveling in Nikifor’s footsteps throughout the country and a longer stay in Krynica-Zdrój.
