Eugeniusz Markowski’s world is a chaotic one. Beyond time and space, extremely emotional, and full of brutal scenes. It is governed by raw laws of nature and primitive instincts. Good lives in symbiosis with evil, and beauty coexists with ugliness. Paradoxically, it is a coherent world. Markowski’s protagonists are not likeable; they are grotesquely funny and tragic at the same time, embodying the drama of the human fate and experiencing the same fears, passions, dreams, longing, and insatiable desires. We observe them in shameful and humiliating situations. A naked woman on a horse, a devil, a carnival parade, a drunken fight, rope pulling, or ritual dance – these are some of the themes Eugeniusz Markowski enjoyed revisiting. Just like the phenomenon of passing time, and the secret of life and death.
His enigmatic compositions
His enigmatic compositions are populated by the same deformed figures, all of them primal, and always nude, with lecherous smiles, capable of doing anything. Usually cruel, obsessed with desire; they are surely not tender lovers, as they conquer women the same way as they hunt – quickly and effectively. They are often accompanied by a horse, also strong, also ready to fight, with froth coming out of its mouth. There is also a bull – the symbol of an undefeated male. The artist’s works tell often reference scenes such as Jacob wrestling with the Angel, St. George defeating a dragon, the temptation of St. Anthony, and the Angel and the Devil. Eugeniusz Markowski does not moralise or pass any judgement; he simply shows us what we are really like. Stripped of all social conventions, our true psyche reveals atavistic emotions hidden deep within us and the dark side of our existence. Eugeniusz Markowski was continuously inspired and fascinated by peculiar opposites – the rapid development of modern technologies and the natural instincts that we have suppresed for centuries.
In his creative work, colours are a superior value
In the 1960s, Markowski’s monochromatic style was becoming increasingly colourful. In his succinct presentations, he juxtaposed red, green, shades of yellow, black, and sometimes azure. In his creative work, colours are a superior value. His art is dominated by red-hot emotions, literally and metaphorically speaking, as the artist would often reach for that colour and its diverse shades.
Eugeniusz Markowski, a highly regarded illustrator, never gave in to current fashions or new trends. He would remain faithful to his colourful and vivid expression. He did not seek fame or wealth, and he was trying to depict the truth about human passion, as complex and ambiguous as it is.
His creative work is associated with such avant-garde artists as Emil Nolde, George Grosch, and Jean Dubuffet. German expressionists admired his unique imagination, often calling him the Luther of painting, a troublemaker. Critic Mariusz Rosiak, wrote that Markowski that he was insane and wild, more radical and subversive than the most radical and subversive young artists.
His paintings still seem to have just been painted…
Bożena Kowalska:
It is surprising how little has been written in Poland about Eugeniusz Markowski’s art. In 1962, Zdzisław Kępiński concluded that his art was one of the most astonishing phenomena in contemporary Polish painting. Fifteen years before that, Enrico Prampolini said the following about the then thirty-five year old painter:
In this Pole’s painting aesthetics, colour is a property that provides the content and the form to his themes.
And he stressed his uniqueness, his temperament, and valour of expression. Little has been written about this artist, because he was an outsider. He did not fit in any of the subsequent epochs.
Biography: Eugeniusz Markowski
He was born and died in Warsaw (1912 – 2007). A painter, a graphic designer, a set designer, a diplomat, a journalist, and an educator. He studied at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts at Prof. Tadeusz Pruszkowski’s atelier. He graduated in 1938. In 1940-1955, he stayed in Italy and Canada, where he worked as a journalist and a diplomat. He was member of an Italian group called Libera Associazione Arti Figurative. Since 1969, he worked as a lecturer at his home university. He took part in numerous exhibitions, i.a., at the Royal Academy of Art (London, 1970), at Kunsthalle Mannhaim (1973), and Museo de Arte Moderno (Mexico, 1975). In 1963, he represented Poland at the Biennial in São Paulo. His works can be found in prestigious collections, including Museu de Arte Moderna in São Paulo, Museum of Art in Łódź, in National Museums in Warsaw, Kraków, Poznań, and Wrocław. Laureate of the Cyprian Kamil Norwid Art Critics’ Award (1984) and the Dr Lech Siuda Collectors’ Award (1998).
Kama Zboralska, curator
Contemporary Lynx Magazine is media partner of the 21st Warsaw Art Fair.
The exhibition, titled “Primal Instinct” will present the works of Eugeniusz Markowski as a part of the 21st edition of Warsaw Art Fair and will be on view at the venue of EXPO XXI (12/14 Prądzyńskiego Street 01-222 Warsaw) between November 23-24 2024.
