Andrzej Cisowski

An artist born on March 1, 1962, in Białystok, died on July 27, 2020, in Targowo – a Polish painter, graphic artist, and multimedia artist. In 1987, he graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, studying in the studio of Professor Rajmund Ziemski. He then continued his studies at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, under the guidance of Konrad Klapheck and A. R. Penck. In 1990, he received the title of Meisterschüller in the studio of Professor A. R. Penck.

His painting and other forms of creativity developed gradually, influenced by the artistic communities he encountered. After studying the classical Warsaw school, he became fascinated with German Neo-Expressionism (the Mulheimer Freiheit group, the "Neue Wilde"). In the 1980s, he was influenced by the "crazy and absurd" works of Jean Dubuffet and Jean-Michel Basquiat (art brut style). Even then, he established his individual style based on a conscious play with form, technique, and composition, which often combined figures with inscriptions (during this period, the "Obrasy" series was created).

In 2005, he created an outdoor installation titled Earth on the Horizon!. This multidimensional site-specific project, which connected nature with culture, was organized in the Masurian village of Targowo. In doing so, the artist fulfilled his childhood dream of building his own campsite. In Targowo, he runs the Masurian Art House, where he also carries out other projects. His works are described as "a colorful, bright, and gentle, as well as somewhat humorous, commentary on the reality around us (…) The painter draws, borrows, repeats, mixes, gathers, extracts elements from context, and gives them a new dimension, creating new meanings." He did not shy away from the symbols of subculture, graffiti, advertising graphics, and comics.