Łukasz Korolkiewicz (b. 1948, Warsaw), "Orangery," 1978.

Origin:
private collection, Poland

Exhibited
Lukasz Korolkiewicz, Dom Plastyk, Warsaw, April-May 1978

Literature
Lukasz Korolkiewicz, exhibition catalog, Dom Plastyka, Warsaw 1978 (cover)

Biography
Lukasz Korolkiewicz is the most important creator of hyperrealist painting in Poland. His works are exact reproductions of images recorded on photographic film, with a full spectrum of light refractions, so essential to the evoked medium. In his compositions, the artist tries to reproduce the surrounding reality as closely as possible. For many, his paintings are not only proof of his virtuosity of craftsmanship and perfect mastery of the painting technique, but also a record of the everyday life of the artistic and queer community of the 1970s and 1980s. In the 1970s, together with Andrzej Bielawski and Ewa Kuryluk, he formed the Śmietanka group, and was also involved in the "O poprawę" art movement. He received many awards including the Independent Culture Committee Award and the Jan Cybis Award (1991). In 2002, he had a retrospective exhibition at the Zachęta Gallery. His paintings, painted in the manner of photorealism, are characterized by a certain mysteriousness and ephemerality. Constantly recurring themes are numerous self-portraits in interiors or gardens, scenes from the daily life of his own acquaintances and depressing Prague backyards.