Grzegorz Wnęk (b. 1974, Frysztak), "Rider" (Inspired by the fresco "Triumph of Death from Palermo"), 2021

Biography
From 1994 to 1999 he studied at the Faculty of Painting of the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow. In 1998 he received a scholarship from the Minister of Culture and Art, and in 1999 he received a diploma with distinction in the studio of Prof. Stanislaw Rodziński. Since 1998, he has worked as an assistant at the Painting Department of the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow in the studios of Prof. Grzegorz Bednarski, and later as an assistant professor at the second level of Prof. Janusz Matuszewski. Since 2000, he co-founded the Association of Young Artists "Kontrapost". In 2001, he stayed at the Kunstlerhaus in Cuxhaven (Germany), realizing an artistic program entitled. "Everyday Life." In 2003 he took part in the symposium "Engaged Art - Opportunity or Myth" in Paradyż. He was a participant in the "Young Poland" scholarship program. Grzegorz Wnęk's belief in the possibility of painting great pictures, devoid of programmatic irony, was strengthened by exhibitions of works by painters from the Leipzig School. Of particular importance to him was the 2005 Venice Biennale, organized under the slogan "return to painting," while the "discovery" was, as he admits, the work of Matthias Weischer. The phenomenon of the Leipzig School proves, according to Wnęk, that "painting can be compared to a constantly reborn Phoenix." The artist's works show, on the one hand, a conscious drawing on photographic shots, while on the other hand, his paintings are painted with thick, intense paint, and important details are emphasized with bravura painting matter. "Everyday" composition themes are not devoid of surrealistic reminiscences, manifested in the exaggeration of selected props or the use of surprising lighting. Wnęk's works arouse the interest of collectors; they have been included in the collection of the Frissiras Museum in Athens, which specializes in contemporary art.