Piotr Strelnik (b. 1956), Lemon, 1997
Acrylic on canvas, 33 x 41 cm
Signed and dated in the lower right corner and on the reverse.
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Piotr Strelnik was born in 1956 in Lublin. He graduated from the art high school in Lublin and later enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, where he specialized in drawing and printmaking. In 1983, he moved to Paris and turned definitively toward painting. This marked the beginning of a very productive period in Strelnik’s career, during which the artist drew inspiration from both his Polish roots and his knowledge of art history. The latter influence is particularly evident in his early works, which blend the influences of movements such as Fauvism and Neo-Impressionism with those of artists including Cézanne, Van Gogh, Larionov, and Chaim Soutine. During this period, Strelnik also began experimenting with various materials, for example, moving away from canvas in favor of cardboard, which allowed for faster work and, consequently, greater freedom of expression, as the artist “paints the way he draws.” His works from the 1980s and 1990s are still figurative, but the artist gradually began to evolve toward non-figurative art. In his most recent works, recognizable motifs disappear, and we can only occasionally make out fragments of landscapes amid large surfaces covered in a relatively uniform color and among bold strokes. Strelnik breaks down form in favor of the painterly gesture, shifting from perspective to a suggestion of depth. However, both his figurative works and his later non-figurative ones are characterized by simplicity and, at the same time, compositional harmony.
Strelnik has exhibited his works in over 50 group and solo exhibitions. He has participated in many prestigious art exhibitions and fairs, such as the Armory Show, Art Miami, Art Chicago, Art Cologne, and Art London. His works are also included in prestigious collections around the world.
