Dimensions: 65 x 50 cm
Signed, dated and inscribed p.d.: 'Witold.K.67.Vallauris'
Origin:
private collection, Poland
Digard Auctions, Paris, 2022
Biography
Studied at the Faculty of Graphic Arts of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. He was a student of Eugeniusz Arct, Wojciech Fangor and Henryk Tomaszewski. He made a plafond in the theater room of the House of Culture in Oswiecim (1958-1961), outdoor sculptures in Marseille (1967-1968), a plastic composition in front of the Museum of Modern Art in Houston (1975). He participated in numerous group exhibitions, including the Exhibition of Young Visual Arts in Warsaw (1956), the Exhibition of Painting at the National Museum in Warsaw (1961), the exhibition of works by Polish artists working abroad titled "WE ARE" in Zachęta (1991). In 1964 he moved to Paris. His stay in France resulted in many friendships, including with Jacques Prevert and Mauic Pons, and meeting Pablo Picasso, who painted a portrait of the artist. In 1968, Kaczanowski moved to the United States. Since 1980, he has divided his time between the United States and Poland.
Kaczanowski was the first Pole and American to have a retrospective at Sotheby's, the oldest auction house in Amsterdam (2007, 163 works exhibited). The list of solo shows is also supplemented by retrospectives at the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles (1973) the Museum of Polish Emigration in Warsaw's Royal Lazienki Park (2004), and the National Museum in Krakow (2013).
Witold-K is the recipient of many awards and honors, which include the Congress Award for Cultural Freedom (1965), the Badge of Merit for Polish Culture (1997), awarded by the Minister of Culture and Art of the Republic of Poland, and the Silver Medal for Merit to Culture Gloria Artis (2013), awarded by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage.