The National Museum in Wroc³aw is staging an exhibition to mark the 10th anniversary of the death of outstanding Polish painter Jerzy Tchórzewski (1928-1999). The works on show all come from the museum's own collection.

The exhibition consists of 43 works that trace Tchórzewski's career. The earliest works date back to 1949, when he was a student at the Cracow Academy of Fine Arts. Tchórzewski's oil paintings bring to life a fairytale world inhabited by wondrous plants and animals. During this period, he created imaginary landscapes interweaving symbolism, surrealism and Romantic tradition. This can be seen from his choice of settings and accessories and the way he utilizes space.

During the late 1950s, the artist moved from a subtle lyricism bewitched by the beauty of paradisiacal gardens towards an expressive world of new realities made up of fire, water, earth and stone.

The undulating forms of previous works gave way to sharp and spiky formations and his earlier color schemes were eschewed in favor of a clash of reds, blacks and golds.

The 1960s brought more changes. Tchórzewski's figures began to meld into the background, the coarse structure infusing the entire canvass. The works from the late 1970s and early 1980s are ever more monumental and often consist of several parts. Tchórzewski's biggest work, Golgota (Calvary) from 1985, is like a romantic landscape painted on a massive scale. Tchórzewski's fascination with the mysterious forces of nature, however, remains the same as in his earlier works.
M.H.
Open until Feb. 14
National Museum in Wroc³aw, 5 Powstañców Warszawy Sq.
For more information, go to www.mnwr.art.pl