Alfred Lenica (1899 - 1977), Fight for space, 1967

oil, canvas, 96 x 108 cm, signed p.d.: 'Lenica' and described on the back: 'A. LENICA | 1967 | WARSAW | PARIS | 'STRUGGLE FOR A PLACE'"



He began his studies in 1922 at the Faculty of Law and Economics at the University of Poznan. At the same time he studied music at the Conservatory of Music. He furthered his painting interests by studying at the Private Institute of Fine Arts run by Adam Hannytkiewicz. In the 1930s, Alfred Lenica painted figurative paintings, primarily still lifes and landscapes, taking his inspiration from Cubism. At the beginning of the war, the Lenica family was displaced from Poznan and went to Krakow. The war time was a turning point in the painter's career. The Krakow artistic milieu centered around Tadeusz Kantor, especially his friendship with Jerzy Kujawski, resulted in a deepening of the painter's interest in the avant-garde. In 1945, Alfred Lenica returned to Poznan, where he became involved in artistic activities. In 1947 he became a co-founder of the avant-garde group 4F+R. After years of trials and explorations, Lenica moved more and more towards abstraction and Tashism. In 1948 he took part in the First Exhibition of Modern Art in Cracow organized by Tadeusz Kantor. Since 1955, Alfred Lenica's painting style, which would accompany him until his death, finally clarified. The style was a combination of Tashism, Surrealism, Informel and Dripping. It involved large-format oil paintings painted in a technique developed earlier by the artist (getting color translucence from under successive layers of paint), which he later perfected and developed. Lenica readily used lacquers and industrial paints. He presented a style of abstract painting with a Surrealist-Expressionist tinge. Lenica traveled extensively; at the invitation of the United Nations, he was in Geneva in 1959/60, where he created a mural painting "Three Elements" (Water, Fire and Love) at the headquarters of the organization. He maintained constant contact with the domestic artistic avant-garde, exhibited with the Cracow Group, took part in most open-air events in Osieki near Koszalin, and participated in the symposium "Art in a Changing World" in 1966 in Puławy. The largest exhibition of Lenica's works was held in 1974 at the Zachęta Gallery.