WARSAW. The exceptional art exhibition “I Paint as I Want” by Franciszek Maśluszczak is still ongoing at the Prom Kultury on Saska Kępa in Warsaw. Meanwhile, on Monday, a new display of his drawings and watercolors will open at Stara Prochownia.
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The works of Franciszek Maśluszczak transport viewers into a world filled with lyricism, subtle humor, and a fairytale atmosphere. With insight and simplicity, the artist tells stories about human matters, often laced with gentle irony. Though his paintings and drawings are rich in fantastical visions, they remain deeply rooted in nature and everyday life. Maśluszczak is one of the most recognizable figures in contemporary Polish art—a creator who masterfully fuses poetic sensitivity with the power of visual expression.
Exhibition Details:
- “I Paint as I Want” is on display from April 30 to May 25, 2025, at Prom Kultury in Warsaw’s Saska Kępa. This retrospective showcases a comprehensive selection of works spanning the last 25 years—a rare opportunity to experience the artist’s imaginative and expressive paintings and drawings, forged along a consistent, personal artistic path.
- The watercolor and drawing exhibition at Stara Prochownia – run by the Capital City Center for Cultural Education at ul. Boleść 2 in Warsaw – opens with a vernissage on May 26, 2025, at 6:00 PM and remains open until June 2, 2025. Hosted by Blanka Wyszyńska Walczak and Artur Wolski, it features ink drawings on handmade paper and watercolors, including illustrations from Ballads and Romances by Adam Mickiewicz.
Artistic Collaboration with Juliusz Erazm Bolek:
“I am delighted and honored to have met Franciszek Maśluszczak. He is truly an exceptional figure in both the art world and as a human being,” shares Juliusz Erazm Bolek, recipient of the World Poetry Day Prize established by UNESCO. “I had long dreamed that he would illustrate my poetry, and in 2012 that dream came true with the bilingual Polish-English edition of my poem The Secrets of Life. A Calendar in Verse.
These illustrations are among the finest I’ve ever seen. I am infinitely grateful to him. I’ve had the privilege of meeting him on many occasions, both professionally and personally, and I can reveal that he is as sensitive as the art he creates, as fascinating as his multilayered works, and profoundly humane. He also possesses a great treasure—his exceptional wife, the companion of his life,” Bolek adds.
About Franciszek Maśluszczak:
Franciszek Maśluszczak is one of Poland’s most distinguished graphic artists, illustrators, and painters, known for his immense sensitivity and imagination. He studied at the Faculty of Graphic Arts at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, earning his degree in 1974 under Julian Pałka. In 1975, he began teaching at the Faculty of Architecture at Warsaw University of Technology.
Since 1970, Maśluszczak has produced illustrations and graphics for magazines including Ty i Ja, Literatura, Szpilki, Polityka, Tygodnik Literacki, Gazeta Wyborcza, and Rzeczpospolita. He has illustrated books by notable authors such as Jeremi Przybora, Ryszard Schubert, Rena Marciniak, Roald Dahl, Ireneusz Iredyński, Edward Stachura, Marek Nowakowski, and Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński. Hanna Krall portrayed him in her story Painting Ltd.
His art aligns with the New Figuration movement and metaphoric expressionism. Reminiscent of Marc Chagall’s work, it also draws from medieval art forms like backdrop perspective and polyptych structure. His characters are slender, stylized, and often set in surreal landscapes—visions not of literal reality but memory and personal narrative. Everyday stories, intimate reflections, and poetic symbolism characterize his work, which also includes pure landscape painting.
He paints in watercolor, acrylic tempera, and oil, working on canvas, board, and paper. His color palette includes vibrant yellows, blues, and honeyed browns.
Architecture and Monumental Works:
Maśluszczak has also taken on architectural projects, including a 2002 polychrome for a chapel in Borki near Wrocław and a 2004 fresco series of the Stations of the Cross in the Church of the Ascension in Warsaw’s Ursynów district.
Collections:
His works are held in major museums such as the National Museum in Kraków, Szczecin, and Zamość; the Peace Museum in Tokyo; the City Museum in Ghent; and the Chagall Museum in Vitebsk, as well as many private collections.
Exhibitions:
Maśluszczak has exhibited widely, including:
- State Art Gallery (Płock, 1977)
- BWA (Lublin, 1978)
- Polish Cultural Institute (Stockholm, 1983; London, 1999)
- ESTA Gallery (Gliwice, 2000)
- Warsaw Association of Visual Artists (2001)
- Silesian Museum (Katowice, 2007)
- BWA (Sandomierz, 2009)
- “I Paint as I Want” (Prom Kultury, Warsaw, 2025)
- Stara Prochownia (Warsaw, 2025)
Documentary Features:
He is the subject of several films, including:
- “The Worlds of Franciszek Maśluszczak” (dir. Hanna Kramarczuk, 1999)
- “Painted City” (TVP, dir. Jakub Nowak, 2001)
- “Jesus in Ursynów” (dir. Agnieszka Gomółka, 2008)
- “Artists in Łazienki” (project by Czesław Czapliński and Jerzy Bończyk, 2015)
Polish News, Culture / NJN / Source: Agencja Informacyjna