User:Waldemar smolarek art/Waldemar Smolarek

=== Waldemar Smolarek, Artist and Painter Waldemar Smolarek was born on 5 September 1937 in Warsaw, Poland. During World War II his family was separated by the German occupying forces and in 1943 his father was sent to Mathausen concentration camp in Austria, for religious and intellectual sympathies. He survived nearly 2 years the camp under forced slave labor working in the quarry. In the final days of the camp he was put into a cattle train by the SS, this was part of a plan to remove the ‘evidence’ of the atrocities of the camp. Not knowing his fate he attempted to escape and was shot whilst running away, this was only one day before the liberation of the camps on May 5th 1945. Over 38,000 Jews were murdered at the Mauthausen camps part of an estimated total of 119,000 who lost their lives between 1940 and 1945. http://www.sacred-destinations.com/austria/mauthausen-concentration-camp His mother raised Waldemar with his younger brother Apolinary during the post war years under the influence of the new communist government in Warsaw. These were difficult times and he learned quickly to become independent and self-supporting. It was during these younger years that he became interested in metalwork and painting and together with his brother he took art classes in the Praga district of Warsaw. After these initial classes he then took lessons with Prof. Zygmunt Tomkiewicz and Alexander Kobzdej from the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts. He continued his studies in the College of Vincent Sliwinski. http://www.culture.pl/web/english/art-academies/-/eo_event_asset_publisher/sh2A/content/academy-of-fine-arts-in-warsaw Between 1958-1967 his work was exhibited in Warsaw and together with Zbigniew Kupczy!skim, John Naliwajko, Alexander So"ko (John Wegner) he became an active participant in public, informal and independent exhibitions at the Barbican in Warsaw up to 1968. Authorities did not sanction the exhibiting at the Barbican and public displays were subject to confiscations and removal at any time, however Waldemar persevered and this action put him in contact with other independent artists with the result in a comprehensive development of the arts during the 1950’s and 60’s. His early creations were metalwork sculptures applied to canvas as well as paintings. He later specialized in painting abstract works in oil on canvas and paper in a Neo Russian Constructivism style. A style that he developed and extended his whole life. All this was achieved during Gomulka’s Poland, which although considered to be more liberal than other Soviet controlled Iron Curtain states it was still without opposition parties and strict controls over art and cultural development.

Student demonstrations broke out in March 1968 when the Government banned the performance of a play By Adam Mickiewicz (written in 1824) for having ”anti soviet references” and Waldemar decided that he must leave the oppressive Russian led culture and illegally left Poland with his meager possessions and very little money making his way across to Sweden. Thus began his artistic emigration and whilst in Sweden he forged many friendships with like souls in the art world and also in the Jewish community who helped him to remain in Sweden until 1970. Feeling that he needed to get far away from the oppression his native Poland he left for Canada where he worked continuously crafting his art and exhibiting all over North America and Europe, not least in London, Paris, Berlin, Miami, Los Angeles, Vancouver and the UAE. In Vancouver in an atmosphere of freedom of life as well as expression of his art he continued his experiments in oil on canvas work, occasionally selling his work but mostly keeping the art for his own pleasure. During his artistic life Waldemar met and worked with many well-known painters, not least Salvador Dali, who all had an influence upon his work. Throughout his life his work was exhibited at many international exhibitions and his works are in many galleries and museums and in private collections worldwide. Over the past few years in Vancouver Canada Waldemar donated several of his paintings for charity auction at the Cancer Societies annual fundraising event. His paintings have provided a significant contribution to the societies funds. Waldemar passed away peacefully in his sleep in the fall of 2010 surrounded by his paintings. Waldemar has been recognized as a contributor to the art world in several publications not least the: 1996--2009<Who's Who in the World 2008<Who's Who in America 2009< Who's Who in American Art www.smolarekart.com

EXIBITED 1954-1965 Barbican Warsaw,Poland. 1959 Artist Cooperative Gallery San Francisco,Cal,USA. 1960 Toporow Gallery Hollywood,LA,Cal,USA. 1961 Toporow Gallery Santa Barbara,Cal,USA. 1961 Kunstlerhaus Vienna Vienna,Austria. 1962 Selected Artist Galleries Inc. New York,USA. 1962 Miami Museum of Modern Art Miami,Fl,USA. 1962 The Gallery Miami,Fl,USA. 1963 Expozione Internazionale Padova,Italy. 1963 Schramm Galleries Fl. Lauderdale,Fl,USA. 1964 Galleries Du Monde Objects D'art Memphis,Tenn,USA. 1965 Philadelphia Museum of Art Philadelpfia,USA. 1965 Solbacaka Gallery Haisigbord,Sweden. 1967 Gallery Classing Stockholm,Sweden. 1972 Avella's Galleries Vancouver.BC.Canada. " 1972 Miami Museum of Modern Art Miami,Fl,USA. 1976 Presentation House North.Vancouver,Canada. 1977 Langton Gallery London,England. 1978 Galerie Denise Rene>Pars,France. 1982 Kilakyushu City Museum of Art Kilakyuhu,Japon. 1982 Galleria Fernondo Vijandeb Madrid,Spain. 1982 Carol Taylor of Art Dallas,Texas,USA. 1983 Nell G.Ovsey Gallery Los Angeles,Cal,USA. 1984 Gallery Silvia Menzel Berlin,Germany. 1984 Quay Gallery San Francisco,Cal,USA. 1985 Galleria Daniel Templon>Paris,France. 1985 Bernard Galleries Laguna Beach,Cal,USA. 1986 Harrison Galleries>Vancouver,BC,Canada. 1991 "Zacheta",Narodowa Galeria Sztuki .Warsaw,Poland. 1991 Osaka Found of CultureJapan. 2001 Gallery Forma&Color Warsaw,Poland. 1992 The 8 INternational Graphic Exhibition in Catania Italy. 1992 Montserat Gallery New York,USA. 1999 Museum Historyczne m st Warszawy Poland. 1999 Galleries d'Art,4 av de Suede Nice,France. 2000 Sharjah Art Museum>United Arab Emirates. 2003 Melina Sztuki Artbarbakan>Warsaw,Poland. 1997 - 2001Trelleborg,Sweden. 2004 Melina Sztuki Artbarbakan Warsaw,Poland. 2005 Gallery Konfercyina Warsaw,Poland. 2008 Galeria N'69 Warsaw,Poland. BIBLIOGRAPHY; 1967 POLSKA MALO ZNANA George J.Fleming.Institut Litteraire,Paris,France. 1969 International Arts Guild>France. 1979 Dictionaries International D'Art Contnpprains>Christian Hals,France. 1976 Visual Arts>BC. Cultural Program,Canada. 1986 Artist of British Columbia>Hartwell Publishers Company.Canada. 1986 Art Diry International>Giancario Politi Editore,Milan, Italy. 1988 Encyclopedia of Living Artist in America>Directors Guild Publishers,Renaisance,Cal,USA. 1995-2009Marquis,New Providence,NJ,USA. 1995-2010R R Bowker,USA. 1996-2009Marquis,New Providence,NJ,USA. 2008 Who's Who in America>New Providence,NJ,USA. 2009 Who's Who in American Art>New Providence,NJ.US"




 * http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waldemar_Smolarek
 * http://www.marquiswhoswho.com/products/AAprodinfo.asp
 * http://www.artinfo.pl/?pid=artists&id=11190&Ing=1
 * http://artbarbakan.artinfo.pl/1999.htm
 * http://smolarekart.com/