The Great Painters
Henryk Stażewski
- avant-garde apostle

HENRYK STAŻEWSKI
(1894-1988)
An extremely colourful figure, "a gentleman among painters", an authority for the next generations of artists - he was a man-institution, a "classic of modernity", a living legend of Polish avant-garde. Throughout his long and creative life he maintained his youthful vitality and fantasy. He was faithful to geometry, although he was not afraid of brave changes. He has been constantly expanding the language abstraction with new problems: space, color, movement.
PIONEER OF THE AVANT-GARDE
CO-CREATOR OF THE GEOMETRIC ABSTRACTION TREND
DESIGNER OF SCENERY AND FURNITURE
HENRYK STAŻEWSKI
1894
(9 January) Henryk Stażewski, son of Leonard (owner of a small foundry of artistic products made of non-ferrous metals), was born in Warsaw, the youngest of four siblings.
1920
graduated from Professor Stanisław Lentz (1861-1920) at the Warsaw School of Fine Arts
1920-1939
1924
founded with his friends Mieczysław Szczuka (1898-1927), Teresa Żarnower (1895-1950), Władysław Strzemiński (1893-1952) and Katarzyna Kobro (1898-1951) an avant-garde group „Blok”
1925
he went to Paris, established contacts with Mondrian (1872-1944), Seupbor, Vantongerloo and van Doesburg (1883-1931)
1926
became a member of the "Praesens" group. Henryk Stażewski played an important role in editing the "Blok" and "Praesens" journals, which had a sensational, innovative graphic layout and brought theories of the leading representatives of the avant-garde closer to readers. The periodicals and subsequent volumes of "Praesens"Libraries were a unique phenomenon on an international scale, a bridge between the experiences of the eastern and western avant-garde.
1929
during his next stay in Paris he took part in organizing the group "Cercle et Carre"

1930-1932
he became involved in the collection of works for the International Collection of Modern Art in Łódź and joined the international group "Abstraction-Creation".
1939
1955
the individual exhibition at the Warsaw Writers' Union became an important manifestation of the avant-garde after the Socialist Realist period
1965
was one of the inspirers of the creation of the avant-garde Foksal Gallery, in the wing of Warsaw's Zamoyski Palace
1966
took part in the XXXIII Venice Biennale, where he received an "honorary mention".
1972
he was awarded the Gottfried Herder Prize
1988
In January, he participated in the birthday opening at the Zapiecek Gallery. Henryk Stażewski died on June 10th in Warsaw, at the age of 94.
Interesting facts:
Atelier
With passion
Foksal
90 candles

Composition No 5, 1956, Source: http://cyfrowe.mnw.art.pl
About the art of Henryk Stażewski:
Henryk Stażewski remained faithful to geometry until the end, although his art is neither cold nor mathematically "calculating". He introduced lightness, poetry and charm to classical abstraction.
The ideal of the first, historical avant-garde was order, discipline and rationalism. Art was no longer an "interior design" and sentimentalism - but organic construction, construction, not decorative aestheticism, but rigor and simplicity. The romantic inspiration was to be replaced by intellectual effort. The avant-garde believed that aesthetic order would introduce justice into social life, logic into thinking and peace into hearts.

Composition white-red, 1956, Source: http://cyfrowe.mnw.art.pl
However, Henryk Stażewski, faithful throughout his life to geometric abstraction, is ready for surprises and revolutionary upheavals. He works methodically. When he considers the problem to be exhausted, he leaves it without hesitation, bravely starting a new chapter. When he is bored with space - he reaches for colour; when he is tired of colour - he paints monochromatic beams of lines.

Abstract Composition, 1981, Source: http://cyfrowe.mnw.art.pl
Both wooden and metal reliefs by Henryk Stażewski are characterised by impeccable precision and workshop excellence. Geometric modules are cut with a laubzeg from a dictation or plywood, then sanded with a file and fixed at some distance from the background, or mounted in space on a nylon grid. The metal parts are carefully polished, sometimes also coated with paint. Later, Henryk Stażewski used polystyrene paints to create a characteristic luminescence effect. Thanks to the use of sheets made of white and coloured metals: aluminium, bronze, copper, chromium, brass and even silver, Henryk Stażewski introduced a specific metallic colour and surprising texture to the picture.
HENRYK STAŻEWSKI at the Museums:

Warsaw: National Museum. Galeria Foksal. You can admire there, among others..:
- „Kompozycja nr 5” namalowany w 1956
- „Relief nr 18” namalowany w 1965
- „Relief nr 14” namalowany w 1965
- „Relief nr 9” namalowany w 1969
- „350 km szybkiej jazdy samochodem” namalowany w 1998

Poznań: National Museum. You can admire there, among others..:
- „Obraz nr 31” namalowany w 1973
- „Kompozycja Abstrakcyjna” namalowany w 1949
- „Martwa Natura z dzbankiem” namalowany w 1923

Krakow: National Museum - Starmach Gallery. You can admire there, among others..:
- „Kompozycja Abstrakcyjna” namalowany w 1958
- „Relief Kolorowy” namalowany w 1961
- „Kompozycja” namalowany w 1948
- „Kompozycja Architektoniczna” namalowany w 1960
- „Czerwony Relief na białym i szarym tle” namalowany w 1960
- „Relief biały” namalowany w 1964
- „Relief szaro-biały” namalowany w 1964

Łódź: Museum of Art, 86 Gallery:
- „Kompozycja Fakturowa” namalowany w 1930
- „Kompozycja” namalowany w 1930
- „Relief nr 22” namalowany w 1967
- „Relief nr 17” namalowany w 1967


Relief 14, 1965, Source: http://cyfrowe.mnw.art.pl

UK:
- Londyn: The Tate Gallery

Czech Republic:
- Praga: Galeria Narodowa

The Netherlands:
- La Haye: Collection Haags Gemeentemuseum
- Amsterdam: Stedlijk Museum
- Otterlo: Rijksmuseum – Kroller-Muller

Germany:
- Gallen: Kunstmuseum
- Kolonia: Galerie Ucher – Galerie Henn

USA:
- Berkeley: Uniwersytet Art Museum
- Minneapolis: MFA Studio
- Los Angeles: Museum of Contemporary Art
- Nowy Jork: Muzem of Modern Art – Guggenheim Museum

Italy:
- Rzym: Galleria Spicchi dell’Est

Other Polish cities:
- Bydgoszcz: Muzeum im. Leona Wyczółkowskiego
- Gdańsk: Muzeum Narodowe
- Lublin: Muzeum Lubelskie
- Opole: Muzeum Śląska Opolskiego
- Szczecin: Muzeum Narodowe
- Wrocław: Muzeum Narodowe – Muzeum Architektury
HENRYK STAŻEWSKI
(1894-1988)
- PIONEER OF THE AVANT-GARDE 100%
- CO-CREATOR OF THE GEOMETRIC ABSTRACTION TREND 100%
- DESIGNER OF SCENERY AND FURNITURE 85%
