MACIEJUK ROBERT, Untitled, 2000

phthalic enamel, panel, 46 x 46 cm, signed on the reverse 'ROBERT MACIEJUK | "WITHOUT TITLE" | FTALALIC ENAMELY | 2000 | 46 X 46 cm'

Robert MACIEJUK (born 1965)
Painter and educator, one of the key figures of the Polish art scene at the turn of the century, whose work is a fascinating study of the mechanisms of visuality. He studied at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts in the studios of professors Stefan Gierowski and Ryszard Winiarski, which shaped his analytical approach to painting. Winner of the prestigious Jan Cybis Award for 2009, he is considered a master of deconstructing the contemporary iconosphere, from road signs and logos to the aesthetics of animation.
Maciejuk's work is a processual game with the viewer's visual memory. The artist has become famous for his series of works in which motifs taken from children's fairy tales (such as Bear Uszatek or Bolek and Lolek) are subjected to painterly transformation - by enlarging them, changing the scale and toning down the color range, they gain a disturbing, almost menacing and artificial character. His canvases, often with smooth, workshop-perfect surfaces, raise questions about the boundary between fiction and reality and how pop culture symbols function in the space of "high art."
The artist's works can be found in major public and private collections, including the National Museum in Warsaw, the Museum of Art in Lodz, the Zachęta National Gallery of Art and the ING Polish Art Foundation. On the auction market, Maciejuk is valued for his intellectual discipline and unique ability to extract metaphysical depth from seemingly banal visual forms.