Edward Dwurnik is one of the most famous and recognizable Polish visual artists.
He was born on 19 April 1943 in Radzymin near Warsaw. In 1963–1970, he studied painting, graphics, and sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, where he graduated from the painting studio of Professor Eugeniusz Eibisch. In 1965, influenced by the exhibition of the naïve painter Nikifor Krynicki, he assumed a similar style in painting, which he later modified and developed. He created over 8000 pieces in an extensive painting series. Beginning in 1966, his oldest and most recognizable series depicted "Hitchhiking," offering bird’s-eye views of cityscapes. Notable series include one offering a caricatural image of Poles in the communist era ("Sportmen") and another portraying Poland's struggle against communism in the 1980s ("Workers"). In the 1990s, he explored themes in various series, including "Blue Cities" and "Diagonals," as well as entirely new ones like "Blue," "Long Live the War!," and "Counting." In the mid-2000s, Dwurnik delved into an abstract series, continuing along other themes until the end of his life.
During his lifetime, Dwurnik participated in many prestigious exhibitions of contemporary art, including documenta 7 in Kassel in 1982, the Biennale of Sydney in 1984, and Biennale de Paris in 1985. His works can be found in many institutional collections, including the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven, the Museum Ludwig in Cologne, the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden in Dresden, the Schaulager in Basel, the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, the National Museum in Warsaw, the National Museum in Krakow, the National Museum in Poznań, and many others.
Edward Dwurnik died on 28 October 2018 at his home in Warsaw.
SELECTED AWARDS AND SCHOLARSHIPS
1983 The "Solidarnosc" Cultural Prize
1984 Atelierhaus Worpswede, DAAD scholarship
1988 Kunstlerhaus Edenkoben, art residence
1992 Coutts Contemporary Art Award, Zurich
WORKS IN COLLECTIONS
Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven, NLD
Museum Ludwig in Cologne, GE
Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, GE
Schaulager in Basel, CH
Zachęta National Gallery of Art in Warsaw, PL
National Museum in Warsaw, PL
National Museum in Krakow, PL
National Museum in Poznań, PL
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2022
- Pines, Raster Gallery, Warsaw
2021
- Znaki Czasu Center for Contemporary Art, Torun - Edward Dwurnik. Poland
- Muzeum Sztuki in Lodz - The pageant. Edward Dwurnik and the phantoms of history
2020
- Museum of Katowice, Katowice - Dwurnik Totalnie
2019
- Raster Gallery, Warsaw - Zbiórka na placu
2018
- Regional Museum in Sandomierz, Sandomierz - 75×75 Dwurnik, retrospective exhibition
- Państwowa Galeria Sztuki, Sopot - 75×75 Dwurnik, retrospective exhibition
2013
- The National Museum, Krakow - Madness
2003
- Raster Gallery, Warsaw - Do końca 1973
2001
- Łaźnia Centre of Contemporary Art, Gdańsk - Edward Dwurnik. Moje grzechy
- Zachęta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw - Edward Dwurnik. Malarstwo. Próba retrospektywy, retrospective exhibition
1998
- Villa Haiss Museum für Zeitgenossische Kunst, Zell am Harmersbach - Edward Dwurnik
1997
- Górnośląskie Musuem in Bytom - Od Grudnia do Czerwca
- Leon Wyczółkowski District Museum in Bydgoszcz - Od Grudnia do Czerwca
1994
- Wüttembergischer Kunstverein, Stuttgart - Edward Dwurnik. Retrospektive
- Kunstverein Würzburg, Gemäldegalerie des Martin von Wagner-Museum, Würzburg - Edward Dwurnik. Ölbilder
1993
- Muzeum Górnośląskie, Bytom - Edward Dwurnik. Blue
1992
- Arnolfini, Bristol - Edward Dwurnik. From December to June — Paintings 1990
1990
- Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art, Warsaw - Edward Dwurnik. „Droga na Wschód”
1989
- IfA Galerie, Bonn - Edward Dwurnik — Polen. Bilder und Zeichnungen
1987
- The National Museum, Wrocław - Nasza Galeria. Edward Dwurnik
1986
- Kunstverein, Lingen - Edward Dwurnik. Zeichnungen
1985
- Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven - Edward Dwurnik. Schilderijen, tekeningen en beelden
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2015
- Future Present, Schaulager, Basel
2004
- De ma fenetre. Des artistes et leurs territories, Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris
1994
- Der Riss im Rau. Positionen der Kunst seit 1945 in Deutschland, Polen, der Slowakei und Tschechien, Guardini Stiftung Berlin, Verlag der Kunst, Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin
1992
- Standpunkte Der Modernę, Deichtorhallen, Nordhalle, Hamburg
1991
-Zone D — Inneraum, eine Ausstellung im Untergrundmessehaus der Stadt Leipzig
- Emanuel Hoffmann-Stiftung 1980-1990, Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Basel
- Positionen Polen, Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin
1988
- Farbę bekennen. Zeitgenössische Kunst aus Basler Privatbesitz. Herausgegeben von Jörg Zutter, Museum für Gegenwartkunst, Basel
- Olympiade des art/Olympiad of Art, Seoul Olympic Organizing Committe, Seul
1987
- XIX Bienal Internacional de Arte Sao Paulo 1987. Polonia, Sao Paulo
- Expressiv. Mitteleuropäische Kunst seit 1960/Central European Art sińce 1960, Museum moderner Kunst/Museum des 20. Jahrhunderts, Vienna; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington D.C.
1986
- Europa/Amerika. Die Geschichte einer künstlerischen Faszination seit 1940, Museum Ludwig, Cologne
- Painting and Sculpture Today. A Biennial exhibition of contemporary art from Chicago and New York galeries, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis
- Ooghoote/Eye level. Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum 1936-1986, Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven
1985
- Nouvelle Biennale de Paris. Electa Moniteur, Paris
1984
- The Fifth Biennale of Sydney. Private Symbol: Social Metaphor, Sydney
1982
- documenta 7, Kassel
1981
- Fifth Triennale India, New Delhi
1979
- I Biennale Der Europäischen Grafik, Heidelberg
1977
- Polnische Kunst Heute. 20 Jahresausstellung Der Neuen Darmstadter Sezession, Ausstellungshallen Mathildenhohe, Darmstadt
1974
- Art Contemporain Polonais. Peinture et Gravure 1974, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Lyon
- Nowa generacja, Muzeum Narodowe, Wrocław
- Dixieme Biennale International d’Art de Menton, Palais de l’Europe, Mentona