Marian Czapla, THE RISEN, 1998

179,0 x 90,0 cm - acrylic, canvas

signed l.g.: czapla '97

Marian Czapla (Gacki, Kielce, Poland, July 28, 1946 - Warsaw, January 12, 2016) studied at the Faculty of Painting of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw from 1966 to 1972, earning a diploma in the studio of Prof. Stefan Gierowski. In 1972 he began teaching at his alma mater. Since 1990 he was a professor, and ran his own painting studio. In 1974-1979 he was a member of the group "Symplex S4", which was formed by a group of young graduates of the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts, interested in the possibility of continuing the tradition of Polish colorism on the one hand, the Unism of Władysław Strzemiński on the other. Initially, he created abstract compositions built from colorful, sweeping streaks and spots. From the late 1970s, figuration became predominant in his paintings. A prominent theme in Czapla's work was religious themes and references. These interests remained current in his art in the 1980s, when he combined them with current themes (a series dedicated to the miners of "Wujka"). In the works of the 1990s (the series "Fall", "Ecce Homo" and others), the artist painted monumental figures with strong tectonics, further emphasized by strong colors and contours, framed by dynamic movements and twists of the body. Usually placed on flat backgrounds of uniform color, in a conventional space, they seem to struggle with the limiting frame of the painting. In 2002, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of Marian Czapla's creative work, the National Museum in Kielce prepared an exhibition of his works, accompanied by a scholarly catalog.