Leon Tarasewicz (b.1957 Walily) | 2240

Leon Tarasewicz is a Polish painter with Belarusian roots, an activist supporting opposition movements in Belarus, and a pedagogue at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. He rejected figurative painting relatively quickly. In the 1980s his works became abstract, and at the end of the decade they were exhibited during the 43rd Venice Biennale. The artist's inspiration is flora and fauna. He uses, predominantly, the basic colour palette. Over recent years he has been creating works that go beyong an "established" area, e.g. a gallery's wall or a canvas. Prestigeous galleries and museums in Poland and around the world organized his individual exhibitions. Tarasewicz collaborates with the Foksal Gallery in Warsaw where he debuted in 1984. He won several important art awards, i.a., Silver Medal "Gloria Artis," Jan Cybis Award (1988), and Polityka's Passport Award (2000).