Ryszard STRYJEC (1932 - 1997), Ex Libris by Edmund Puzdrowski
etching, paper
9 x 5.5 cm (print)
signed at bottom: R Stryjec
Ryszard Stryjec (1932 - 1997) - graphic artist, also occasionally engaged in ceramics and painting. In 1939 Ryszard Stryjec's father was arrested and his family deported to Kazakhstan. After a few years, in 1946, Helena with her daughter and son returned to Poland, to Swiebodzin. Between 1950 and 1952, young Ryszard Stryjec received his education at the High School of Fine Arts in Gdynia Orlowo. He then attended the Academy of Fine Arts, originally located in Sopot and later in Gdansk. He studied printmaking under Professor Zygmunt Karolak, and painting under Professor Stanislaw Teisseyre and Krystyna Lada- Studnicka. For years he created in his small studio located in the attic of a Danzig townhouse. His prints featured many themes alluding to the works of European masters, including Albrecht Dürer, which is why he was called the Danzig Dürer by some. The subject matter of Ryszard Stryjec's works varies, while he often drew on mythological, biblical, medieval and, above all, Danzig motifs. In 1955-1962 he was associated with the "Kadyns", a ceramic group led by Hanna Zulawska. The works of Ryszard Stryjec are in numerous Polish and foreign collections. There have been many exhibitions devoted to his work, unfortunately, most only after the artist's death.