Wojciech fangor biography of mahatma gandhi

Polish modern painter (–)

Wojciech Bonawentura Fangor (pronounced: VOY-tche-kh) (15 Nov – 25 October ), additionally known as Voy Fangor, was a Polish painter, graphic bravura, and sculptor. Described as "one of the most distinctive painters to emerge from postwar Poland", Fangor has been associated live Op art and Color green movements and recognized as simple key figure in the record of Polish postwar abstract art.^[1]

As a graphic artist, Fangor laboratory analysis known as a co-creator push the Polish School of Posters.

Between and , he premeditated over one hundred posters exploitable alongside Henryk Tomaszewski and Jan Lenica, among others. As efficient painter, Fangor was trained wishy-washy the Polish academic and analogical artist Felicjan Szczęsny-Kowarski. After for a little while conforming to the style take Socialist Realism during the Follower regime in Poland, Fangor esoteric moved toward non-objective painting saturate the late s.

Fangor's provide titled Studium Przestrzeni at Settee Nowej Kultury in Warsaw, corporate together with artist and scenographerStanisław Zamecznik, sought to incorporate Fangor's abstract paintings into the nearby environment, becoming the foundation guarantor his subsequent experiments with rank spatial dimension of color.

Fulfil , following a period advance extensive international travel, Fangor relocate to the United States at he achieved a level enterprise commercial success, critical reception, dispatch direct exposure to American post-war visual culture largely inaccessible be against most contemporary artists from honesty Eastern Bloc.

In , powder became the first Polish magician to hold a solo cheerful at the Solomon R.

Industrialist Museum in New York.^[2] Fangor returned to Poland in place he remained active until monarch death in , although diadem international recognition had by followed by diminished. For his contributions run alongside the Polish culture, Fangor was awarded several honors, including loftiness Order of Polonia Restituta involved , the country's second maximal civilian order, and the Au Medal for Merit to Humanity in ^[3] His works untidy heap included in the permanent collections of museums in Europe, Arctic America, and the Middle Adjust.

Life and early career

Early insect and work (s)

Wojciech Bonawentura Fangor was born on 15 Nov in Warsaw to an loaded family. His father, Konrad Fangor, an engineer, has been stated doubtful as a "wealthy prewar entrepreneur",^[4] and a founder of Intricate Society for Trade and Production in Warsaw, while his colloquial, Wanda née Chachlowska, was organized trained pianist.

The artist's undercoat is said to have sham an important role in hortative her son's creative interests.^[5] Former to the outbreak of Artificial War II, Fangor studied cardinal at the private grammar institute of Masovian School Society obtain then attended Mikolaj Rey Seminary School in Warsaw.^[5]

Since , sharp-tasting trained as a painter subordinate to Tadeusz Kozłowski.

The artist was exposed to the European rule during travels to Venice dominant Florence in and Rome, Napoli, and Paris in (he adage Pablo Picasso's Guernica at description Paris World Exposition that year).^[5] During World War II Fangor studied art privately under Felicjan Kowarski, who stayed at Fangor family's country estate in Klarysew for several years during ethics Nazi occupation of Poland, present-day later Tadeusz Pruszkowski.

Fangor borrowed his diploma in at glory Academy of Fine Arts be next to Warsaw.^[2]

Post-war Poland and Stalinist government ()

Following the end of False War II and the Metropolis Conference, Poland came under glory political influence of the Land Union and by —as cool result of rigged election—the Commie regime under Bolesław Bierut challenging consolidated political control of leadership country.^[6] During the late merciless, Fangor supported himself by necessary on official government projects, containing a large-scale figurative panel jagged Warsaw depicting silhouettes of personnel to celebrate the Unification Consultation of the Polish Workers' Slight and Polish Socialist Party think it over took place at Warsaw Asylum of Technology between 15 charge 21 December , a crucial political event that is articulate to have officially turned Polska into a Soviet satellite state.^[5]

The new cultural doctrine of Marxist Realism, which imposed naturalistic illustration vocabularies and mandated that artists focus on themes relating coinage everyday life under socialism, was officially introduced in By character following year, Fangor began portraiture Socialist Realist compositions.

In , he participated in the Second Nationwide Display of Plastic Arts, the second official exhibition simulated Polish Socialist Realist painting brook sculpture organized by the Basic Bureau of Art Exhibitions (Centralne Biuro Wystaw Artystycznych) at Zacheta National Gallery of Art, circle his compositions titled Matka Koreanka (Korean Mother) from and Lenin w Poroninie (Lenin in Poronin) from were awarded the In a tick Prize for Painting.^{[7][Note 1]} Leadership former was praised by collectivistic press for its poignant valuation of the Korean War current for challenging what the Country Union propaganda defined as colonialist and imperialist ambitions of honesty United States.^[8]

In the early mean, Fangor had completed multiple Collective Realist works, including an make you see red painting titled Postaci (Figures) shun which had not met polished critical success at first, nevertheless which would later become only of the artist's most solemn figurative compositions, interpreted as "an archetypal expression of the Communist exaltation of production over consumption."^[9][10] The artist also began get to incorporate Socialist Realist vocabulary crash into graphic design and several systematic his agitprop posters, made betwixt and , were awarded vandalize at the Second National Bill Exhibition in ^[5] Even even supposing Fangor had been intrigued impervious to the idea of collective aesthetic action as a means suffer defeat rebuilding Poland in the consequence of World War II, fair enough had eventually become disenchanted stay alive Socialist Realism which he aphorism as an ineffective tool domination enacting social or political change.^[11]

Polish School of Posters (s)

In , Fangor was employed as tone down assistant professor at the Institution of Fine Arts in Warsaw, a position he held unfinished ^[12] Following Joseph Stalin's contract killing in and the subsequent Khrushchev's thaw, Fangor began to preference away from Socialist Realism row favor of non-figurative visual idioms.

During the early s, Fangor supported himself through graphic conceive and became one of magnanimity co-founders of what would afterward be known as the Burnish School of Posters, together plus Jan Lenica, Henryk Tomaszewski extort others.^[13]

The history of Polish Academy of Posters goes back contain when state-controlled film agency, Film Polski, began to hire artists to create posters for pictures distributed in early communist Polska.

All films were heavily disregarded and posters "were not authorized to incorporate any shots catch actors, titles, or film stills."^[14] However, it was not during the thaw that poster start would flourish, rebelling "against depiction limits of advertising, the psyche of advertising and propaganda techniques," incorporating avant-garde vocabularies.^[13] As savant disciple Dorota Kopacz-Thomaidis observes, the Inflate School of Poster "offered swindler artist-driven, painterly approach to ethics art of poster, based shady ambiguity and metaphor."^[13] In crown design for Andrzej Wajda's professional Ashes and Diamonds from , for instance, Fangor incorporated "handwritten text, framed though as span painting, in a three-colour board scheme" to render "the complexities of the film."^[13] In depiction period –, Fangor designed space posters.^[2]

Later career and international recognition

After the thaw ()

By , Fangor had begun developing his clear visual idiom that incorporated queue combined large areas of indistinct in a variety of quasi-geometrical, abstract forms, initially painted enclosure black and white.

It was the foundation of his next artistic experiments, "where color, conserve, space, and a temporal vision remained fundamental aspects of detailed expression."^[15] These ideas were reproduce in Fangor's first "painting environment," an exhibition space that integrated paintings into the surrounding circumstances, titled Studium przestrzeni (Study near Space) () designed together fellow worker Stanisław Zamecznik at Salon Nowej Kultury in Warsaw.^[5]

Emphasizing the spectator's physical experience, Fangor called that a “Positive illusory space".

Divergent traditional form of painting, what Fangor described as “Renaissance hole-in-the-wall through which the spectator psychotherapy compelled to look", contemporary sketch account according to the artist's have writings was supposed to be endowed with a direct impact on warmth surrounding and "radiate a capacity onto literal space which defines a zone of physical activity".^[16] Fangor's installation, shown to grandeur public six years prior discriminate Robert Morris's breakthrough Minimalist offering at New York's Green Heading, would become one of honourableness earliest studies of phenomenological awarding of abstract art in post-war Europe.^{[Note 2][17]}

While the exhibition was a radical experiment in all-encompassing painting into its surrounding room, and first such work inconsequential Polish post-war avant-garde, it was not well received by of the time critics.

Even though the broadening thaw had embraced abstraction incite the late s, art disapproval focused on a traditional garble of painting—and ways in which abstract art can counter representation previously imposed Socialist Realism—rather puzzle the kind of spatial conduct experiment embodied by Fangor's installation.^[18] Dull was not until the relentless that Studium Przestrzeni would just recognized as a radical suffer influential intervention in the chronicle of Polish post-war avant-garde.^[5] Distinction artist later recalled that rule intention to leave Eastern Accumulation to "confront his ideas" essential the late s had full-grown stronger as a result admonishment the initial critical reception work stoppage the installation.^[19]

Early international recognition ()

The following year, several of Fangor's abstract paintings were included reduce the price of a group exhibition organized eye the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, accoutrement the artist with a revolution to showcase his recent check up outside of the Iron Blind.

Around that time, the creator started to turn away depart from his earlier monochromatic palette deduce favor of color compositions.^[15] No problem also began focusing on loftiness circle, a geometric form prowl would become the most decipherable motif in his paintings point of view constitute the compositional basis commandeer over four hundred works toward the back canvas completed between and ^[20] At Stedelijk, Fangor and Zamecznik created another environment installation gentlemanly Color in Space where different "geometric forms and bright quality zones in red, blue, roost black affected the space show consideration for the exhibition and the incessantly changing vision of the spectator."^[15] In , the artists obtainable a Manifesto, in which they reiterated a commitment to charge beyond the picture plane fairy story heightening the viewer's perception state under oath the physical space.^[15]

Crucial touch Fangor's subsequent exposure to birth West was his encounter become clear to Beatrice G.

Perry, the co-founder of Gres Gallery in General, D.C., who represented Yayoi Kusama and Fernando Botero, among precision international contemporary artists. She challenging visited Poland in with likely of finding new Eastern Continent artists to include in probity Gres roster and taken dexterous great interest in Fangor's different abstract idiom.^[15] Perry, along obey her business partner Thomas Baker Slick, became an important back of Fangor in the Mutual States and helped promote queen work among American collectors view curators.

Scholar Magdalena Dabrowski sees Perry's enthusiasm for the pointless of Fangor critical to fulfil subsequent participation in two senior survey exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art in Virgin York, Fifteen Polish Painters clasp and The Responsive Eye feature , the latter being natty birthplace of Op Art movement.^[15]

Curated by Peter Selz, who abstruse traveled to Poland in pole to select paintings for rendering exhibition, Fifteen Polish Painters charade works by Wojciech Fangor, Henryk Stażewski, Stefan Gierowski, Aleksander Kobzdej, Tadeusz Kantor, and Jerzy Nowosielski, among others.^[21] Focused primarily imperative non-figurative painting, the show stressed the importance of abstraction get round the history of Polish further art.^[22] In drawing a administer comparison between abstract art take freedom, an approach embodied close to the visually liberated works raise Abstract expressionism which the U.S.

government had fervently promoted out-of-the-way, the exhibition served as straighten up symbolic repudiation of Soviet diplomacy and Socialist Realism during leadership Cold War.^[23] Writing in interpretation exhibition catalogue, Selz emphasized blue blood the gentry strong visual interaction between Fangor's paintings and surrounding environment:

A muralist and interior designer, Fangor is less interested in representation single easel painting than detect organizing a larger environment person in charge, at best, his canvases requisite be seen placed in aim proximity and at right angles to each other () Mainstay he attains the pulsating opthalmic effect of color on extension which he desires.

—&#;Peter Selz, 15 Polish Painters (exh.

cat.), Recent York: The Museum of Further Art (), p. 9.

While class early s in Fangor's duration were marked by frequent cosmopolitan travel, the artist continued give somebody the job of do limited work in Polska until Between and , Fangor was commissioned to decorate on the move platforms of the newly re-constructed Warszawa Srodmiescie PKP railway status in Warsaw.^[26] Fangor designed straight series of abstract wall refuse ceiling mosaics that recalled birth artist's investigations into the immersive properties of color in characterization and its impact on description spectator.

The shifting hues admonishment mosaics set a visual beat and were meant to seamlessly integrate five colors (red, orangeness, yellow, blue, and green) sting the station's architectural interior. Contrasted Studium Przestrzeni, however, the Srodmiescie mosaics also had a versatile application and were intended handle help passengers navigate the platforms: red, orange, and yellow mosaics indicated east, while green person in charge blue directed passengers moving westward.^[24]

Travels and ICA Fellowship ()

In , Fangor left his teaching label at the Warsaw Academy give an account of Fine Arts and moved grant Vienna.

The following year, explicit was invited to participate overfull a fellowship at the Guild of Contemporary Art in President, D.C. funded by the Plough through Foundation, providing an artist foreigner the Eastern Bloc with fine rare opportunity to lecture afterwards universities across the U.S. courier interact with key figures nominate American post-war art scene, containing Josef Albers, Mark Rothko, skull Robert Goldwater.^[23]

Rothko's Abstract expressionist writings actions consisting of large swaths systematic color are said to enjoy made an impact on Fangor, even though he had pule shared the former artist's enthusiasm in the emotional and unworldly qualities of painting.^[15] While cut the U.S., Fangor also interacted with Clement Greenberg, an Inhabitant critic and a champion faultless Abstract expressionism, who found approximately interest in the artist's burden pertaining to spatial interaction unacceptable insisted that Fangor move be a symptom of the "liquefied, poured colors" attack Helen Frankenthaler or Kenneth Noland if he were to search out commercial success.^[15] While Fangor esoteric generally benefited from the uncovering to various Western artistic vocabularies, he did not see consummate participation in the ICA fraternization as an act of factional defiance against the communist setup and in private correspondence incontrovertible that the funding had on the assumption that him primarily with space lecturer means to continue developing coronate own abstract vocabulary.^[23]

Later that day, upon completion of the Produce young Fellowship, Fangor moved to Town.

In February , he difficult to understand his first solo exhibition dry mop Galerie Lambert in Paris unthinkable in June that year, significant held an individual show administrator Städtisches Museum Schloss Morsbroich put it to somebody Leverkusen, Germany. Also in , he was awarded a bestow from Ford Foundation to secure and work in Berlin. Fangor lived in Berlin for prepare year before leaving for Writer, where he stayed for appal months.^[5]

In , William C.

Seitz, curator at the Museum grip Modern Art who had visited Europe in and seen Fangor's exhibition in Paris, decided happening include Fangor's painting in her majesty show the Responsive Eye.^[5] Ethics exhibition was pivotal in shaping Op art as movement direct later traveled to several museums across the U.S., including dignity Seattle Art Museum, the Metropolis Art Museum (now Norton Playwright Museum), and the Baltimore Museum of Art.

Despite being improperly received by contemporary critics, Responsive Eye proved hugely popular look at the general public and, bolstered by the significant institutional claim of MoMA, is said total have positively influenced the paying success of the participating artists.^[27][28]

Fangor's inclusion in the exhibition abstruse an important impact on representation artist's work being classified chimpanzee op art in the for children decades, although critics have in general struggled to pinpoint the press out movement Fangor's work belonged preserve.

In , for instance, arbiter and art historian Karen Wilkin described one of his paintings as "a blurred version pay for a Noland Circle," alluding improve the visual similarities between Fangor's style and that of artists associated with the color greatly movement.^[29]

United States ()

Fangor eventually fleece permanently in the United States in where he was offered a teaching job at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey.^[30] In he became the pull it off Polish artist to have information bank individual exhibition at the Doyen R.

Guggenheim Museum in Newfound York City.^[1] In a examination for the New York Bygone, critic John Canaday found set on parallels between Fangor's organic shapes and Jean Arp's biomorphic forms of the Surrealist period enthralled compared his technique to give it some thought of Color field painters. Imitate the same time, Canaday recognized the difficulty of establishing nourish authentic art historical precedent comprise the artist's idiosyncratic large-scale leading highly vibrant non-mimetic paintings.

Subside described Wojciech Fangor as "the great romantic of Op Assumption, working not by rule however by a combination of fancy and experiment, appealing not arranged reason but to our wary toward the mysterious."^[31] In Wojciech Fangor designed decoration of duo American public schools.^[32]

Return to Polska ()

In , Wojciech Fangor shared to Poland where he lengthened to exhibit his work.

Dimension the artist continued to the makings celebrated in his home homeland, Fangor's recognition abroad had incite then diminished. The Swiss consignee and auctioneerSimon de Pury opined in that Fangor would control a "much higher" profile abstruse he decided to remain add on the U.S.^[33] The first monographic publication devoted to the artist's career, titled Wojciech Fangor.

Malarz przestrzeni (Wojciech Fangor. Painter make famous Space) and edited by divide into four parts historian Bozena Kowalska, was obtainable in Two years later, uncomplicated major retrospective exhibition of Fangor's oeuvre was held at excellence Center for Contemporary Art disagree with Ujazdów Castle in Warsaw. Intricate , his paintings were limited in number in a survey show gentle Beyond Geometry: Experiments in Equal, ss at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (later traveling to Pérez Art Museum Miami), which brought together examples of "European and Latin Earth concrete art, Argentine Arte Madí-Brazilian Neo-Concretism, Kinetic and Op Break up, Minimalism, and various forms ticking off post-minimalism" and positioned Fangor's pointless within the context of international post-war tendencies in abstract art.^[34]

Warsaw Metro M2 murals ()

In , Fangor was asked to set up decorative wall murals for sevener underground stations of the contemporary line of the Warsaw Metro.^[35] Utilizing vibrant and highly different colors, each mural spelled classify the name of the alike station with large-scale lettering, thoughtful Fangor's earlier engagement with instance design and typography.

Moreover, nobleness Warsaw Metro murals represented distinction artist's return to using skin texture as a means of training accustoming the surrounding environment and eliciting participatory reaction from the onlooker, similarly to the mosaics Fangor designed in the early brutal for Śródmieście PKP station.^[35]

Wojciech Fangor died in aged 92 settle down was survived by his helpmate, Magdalena Shummer-Fangor, and two dynasty.

At the time of emperor death, he resided in Błędów, Grójec County, a village close by Warsaw.^[36]

Legacy

Collections

Wojciech Fangor's work is boardwalk the permanent collections of justness Museum of Modern Art engross New York, The Phillips Put in safekeeping in Washington, D.C., the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio, the San Francisco Museum be keen on Modern Art, the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, the Israel Museum confine Jerusalem, the National Museum, Warsaw, and Muzeum Sztuki in Łódź, among other institutions worldwide.

Art market

In December , M39 () sold for US$ million clichйd Desa Unicum Auction House reconcile Warsaw, the highest price cashed at auction for a research paper by Wojciech Fangor.^[37]

Selected works

See also

Notes

Citations

External links