Kazimierz MIKULSKI, Finis Composition

collage, mixed technique, cardboard, 29.5 x 44.4 cm. Work reproduced in the catalog to the exhibition "Kazimierz Mikulski. Painting, drawing, collages, scenographic and illustration projects". Desa Auction House, Krakow 13 Florianska Street, April 29-May 13, 2015.

Painter, actor, director, stage designer. Beginning in 1938, he studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow under Paweł Dadlez and Kazimierz Sichulski. Then, during the occupation, he continued his studies at the officially operating Kunstgewerbeschule under the tutelage of Friedrich Pautsch. After the war, in 1945-46, he studied acting and directing at the Drama Studio at the Old Theater in Cracow. Shortly after liberation, he was a member of the Young Artists Group, and in 1957 became a member of the then reactivated Krakow Group. Like other artists gathered in both groups, and above all around Tadeusz Kantor, who led them, he participated in exhibitions of modern art (Krakow 1948-49, Warsaw 1957 and 1959). For many years he collaborated with the "Cricot 2" theater. From 1948-1979, he worked as a stage designer and art director of the State Puppet and Mask Theater "Groteska" in Cracow. In his work he took up abstract themes, metaphorical and surrealist painting, becoming one of the most recognized representatives of this trend in Poland. The artist's works can be found in museum and private collections in Poland and abroad.