Andrzej Bielawski, a graphic artist, draughtsman, painter and photographer was born on January 31, 1949 in Miłosna near Warsaw, Poland.

He began his studies in 1967 at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw and graduated in 1973 after receiving a diploma in Graphic Arts from Professor Andrzej Rudziński's atelier. Between 1982-1983, he worked as an assistant in the painting department at the school. Throughout the eighties he cooperated with the underground "Solidarity" movement, producing a number of graphic art works and prints. Since 1991, together with his wife, Teresa Starzec, Bielawski runs the "Fundacja Atelier" in Warsaw, a city where he works and lives till today.

During his studies, he befriended Andrzej Bieńkowski, Tomasz Ciecierski, Ewa Kuryluk and Jan Dobkowski, with whom in the seventies, he formed an informal artistic group called "Śmietanka" / "Cream of the crop" - the name taken from a joined exhibition at MDM gallery in Warsaw (1977). During his 'Martial Law' period, on his ground and in his mud you could see remains from tear gas flares, the insignia of "Solidarity", and barbwire - delicate and stylish like in japanese prints, the esthetics towering over reality, a reality before which people were powerless....

In the years that followed, Andrzej Bielawski's painting moved more and more towards a reflection on pictorialism. The theme undertaken in "Gabloty" returns with a strength in his next series of paintings, whose 'matter' is made up of soil, earth and mud (as seen in paintings from 1986-1987). These resemble assemblages and focus on the 'matter' that painting itself is made up from. In addition, there are the metal paintings (composed out of used graphic stencils), as well as, pictures 'painted' with wax.

In the nineties, Bielawski built his pictures out of natural elements, that make up the 'graphic artist's own workshop' - he composed utilizing used graphic stencils, pasting prints of 'walls' and rectangular modules. From the mid-nineties, Bielawski's painting 'matter' became wax, which covers the canvas and gives the impression of a unifying element even more. The long-lasting process of creating the oil paintings with the use of wax (1997-2000), whose structure has been compared to that of lichen walls and coarse granite.

Since 2004, Bielawski creates large-format (each 180 x 134 cm), unnumbered canvasses that are covered in monochrome wax. Often their structure is multi-layered, and Bielawski composes the works out of numerous coats of ash, rice paper and wax. The pieces were presented at the artist's solo exhibition at Zachęta Gallery in 2007. Here the series of paintings served to build a monumental composition that encapsulated the entire gallery space.

Author: Karol Sienkiewicz, December 2007.

Selected solo exhibitions:

•       1973 - "Grafika i rysunek" (Graphic Art and drawing) - Galeria Sztuki Współczesnej (Contemporary Art Gallery), Warsaw;
•       1974 - "Grafika i rysunek" (Graphic Art and drawing) - “Galeria Młodych” Gallery, Warsaw;
•       1975 - "Grafika" (Graphic Art) - Salon BWA, Legnica; Galleri Aftenlandet, Copenhagen, Denmark;
•       1976 - "Grafika, rysunek" (Graphic Art, drawing) - BWA, Białystok;
•       1978 - Galeria KMPiK Ściana Wschodnia (East wall), Warsaw;
•       1979 - "Grafika, rysunek" (Graphic Art, drawing) - Salon Sztuki Współczesnej (Contemporary Art Salon), Łódź; "Grafika, rysunek" (Graphic Art, drawing) - BWA Gallery, Lublin; "Grafika" (Graphic Art) - GP Gallery, Warsaw;
•       1980 - Galeria Krytyków (Critic’s Gallery), Warsaw;
•       1981 - "Wystawa prac" (Exhibition of works) - BWA Arsenał Gallery, Poznań;
•       1983 - Kulturhusets Konsthall, Skövde, Sweden;
•       1984 - "Efemeryda" - Andrzej Bielawski Atelier, Warsaw; "Korsvandringen" - Södertälje Kulturnämnd, Södertälje, Sweden;
•       1985 - "Grafika - Rysunek - SBWA" (Graphic Art - Drawing - SBWA), Pokaz Gallery, Warsaw; "Zeichnungen und Aquarelle" - Burgerzentrum, Bielefeld-Sennestadt, Germany;
•       1986 - La Petite Galerie, Brema, Germany (together with Teresa Starzec);
•       1987 - SHS Gallery, Warsaw;
•       1989 - "Exposition de gravures" - Atelier Contraste, Fryburg, Switzerland;
•       1990 - Zamek Książąt Pomorskich (Pomeranian Dukes' Castle), Galeria Południowa (South Gallery), BWA, Szczecin;
•       1991 - Salon Sztuki Współczesnej (Contemporary Art Salon) BWA, Bydgoszcz;
•       1992 - "Z pracowni Andrzeja Bielawskiego" (From Andrzej Bielawski’s Atelier) - Galeria Zachęta (Zachęta Gallery), Warsaw;
•       1994 - "Blachy i papiery" (Metal sheets and papers) - Kordegarda Gallery, Warsaw; Bałucka Gallery, Łódź;
•       1997 - "Prace z lat 1992-1996" (Works from 1992-1996) - Galeria Sztuki Współczesnej Zachęta (Zachęta Contemporary Art Gallery), Warsaw; "Książki / Strony" (Books / Pages) - Koło Gallery, Gdańsk;
•       1999 - Pryzmat Gallery, ZPAP, Cracow (together with Teresa Starzec);
•       2001 - "Prace z lat 1990-2000" (Works from 1990-2000) - Studio Gallery, Warsaw; "Strony" (Pages) - Milano Gallery, Warsaw;
•       2002 - "Teresa Starzec i Andrzej Bielawski w Galerii Koło" (Teresa Starzec and Andrzej Bielawski at Koło Gallery) - Koło Galery, Gdańsk; "Książki / Strony" (Books / Pages) - Biblioteka Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego (Warsaw University Library), Warsaw;
•       2007 - "Bez tytułu. prace 2004-2007" (Untitled. Works 2004-2007) - Zachęta Narodowa Galeria Sztuki (Zachęta National Art Gallery), Warsaw.

Selected joined exhibitions:

•       1971 - "Intergroup" - Galleria d'Arte Margutta, Syrakuzy, Italy;
•       1972 - "Wystawa malarstwa i rysunku" (Painting and drawing exhibition) - Galeria Teatru Studio (Theater Studio Gallery), Warsaw;
•       1973 - VI Ogólnopolska Wystawa Grafiki (VI National Graphic Art Exhibition) - CBWA Zachęta, Warsaw;
•       1974 - 4. Triennale rysunku (4th Drawing Triennale) - Muzeum Architektury (Architecture Museum), Wrocław; "Przestrzenie niedyskretne" (Indiscreet spaces) - siedziba Stowarzyszenia Historyków Sztuki (Office of the Art Historian’s Association), Cracow; "Nowa generacja" (New generation) - Muzeum Narodowe (National Museum), Wrocław;
•       1975 - "Pokolenie XXX" (Generation XXX) - Dom Artysty Plastyka Gallery, Warsaw; "Young Artists '75" - Union Carbide Building, Nowy Jork, USA; Warszawa w sztuce '75 (Warsaw in art ‘75) - Dom Artysty Plastyka Gallery, Warsaw;
•       1976 - VII Ogólnopolska Wystawa Grafiki (VII National Graphics Art Exhibition) - CBWA Zachęta, Warsaw; The Art of Poland - Gallery International, Adelaide, Australia; VI Międzynarodowe Biennale Grafiki (VI International Biennale of Graphic Art) - BWA, Cracow;
•       1977 - Śmietanka (Cream of the crop) - MDM Gallery, Warsaw; Polnische Kunst Heute - Darmstadt, Germany; CDN - Prezentacje Sztuki Młodych (Young Artists Presentation) - Warsaw;
•       1978 - VIII Ogólnopolska Wystawa Grafiki (VII National Exhibition of Graphic Art) - CBWA Zachęta, Warsaw; Grafika (Graphic Art) - Pałac Sztuki (Art Palace) TPSP, Cracow; Now Drawing Is... - Kuabasaki Gallery, Kyoto, Japan;
•       1979 - Polska Grafika Współczesna (Contemporary Polish Graphic Art) - Muzeum Narodowe (National Museum), Wrocław; Biennale "Der Europäischen Grafik" - Heidelberg, Germany;
•       1980 - Rysunki i komentarze (Drawings and commentaries) - Muzeum Okręgowe (Regional Museum), Radom; Unsere Zeit - Galerie Zum roten Ochsen, Erfurt, Germany;
•       1981 - "Poolse Kunst in Pulchri" - Purchri Studio, Haga, Holland; Ogród Poznania (Experiences Garden) - MDM Gallery, Warsaw;
•       1982 - "Zbiory sztuki współczesnej" (Contemporary Art Collection) - Studio Gallery, Warsaw; "Jeune peinture - Jeune expression" - Grand Palais, Paris, France;
•       1983 - "Kunst aus Polen" - Kulturzentrum des Kreises Coesfeld, Kolvenburg Billerbeck, Germany;
•       1984 - "Spotkania ze sztuką" (Meetings with art) - kościół Miłosierdzia Bożego przy ul. Żytniej (Church of Divine Mercy on Żytnia Street), Warsaw; "Pamięć" (Memory) - Muzeum Archidiecezji Warszawskiej (Warsaw Archdiocese Museum), Warsaw;
•       1985 - "Czas krzyża" (Time of the Cross) - kościół Podwyższenia Krzyża oo. Kapucynów (Exaltation of the Cross Church - Capuchin friars), Bytom; "Czas smutku, czas nadziei" (Time of sorrow, time of hope) - kościół Matki Boskiej Bolesnej (Church of Our Lady of Sorrows), Poznań; Open Atelier House - Atelierhaus, Worpswede, Germany;
•       1986 - "Polish Contemporary Landscape Works" - The Kosciuszko Foundation, Nowy Jork, USA; "Malerai, Grafik, Zeichnungen. Bielawski. Ciecierski. Starzec" - Galerie Perspective, Neuss-Düsseldorf, Germany;
•       1987 - "Anxiety" - Rackham Gallery, Michigan, USA; "Realizm radykalny, abstrakcja konkretna" (Radical realism, definite abstraction) - Muzeum Narodowe (National Museum), Warsaw;
•       1988 - "Obecność" (Presence) - pokaz plenerowy malarstwa i rzeźby (Outdoor exhibition of painting and sculpture), Wawrzyszew, Warsaw;
•       1990 - "Grabado Contemporaneo Polaco" - Salas Nacionales de Exposicion, Buenos Aires, Argentina; "Salon letni" (Summer saloon) - Muzeum Narodowe (National Museum), Cracow; IN PROGRESS - Pumpe e.v., Kilonia, Germany;
•       1991 - "Epitafium i siedem pieczęci" - Zachęta Gallery, Warsaw; Verbotene Ostkunst 1948-1989 - Muzeum Moderner Kunst, Vienna, Austria;
•       1994 - "Grafik aus Warschau" - Junge Kunst Museum, Frankfurt (Oder), Germany;
•       1995 - "Artyści polscy na festiwalach międzynarodowych 1975-1995" (Polish artist at international festivals 1975-1995) - Muzeum Narodowe (National Museum), Wrocław;
•       1996 - "Artyści polscy dla muzeum w Vulkovarze" (Polish artist for the Vukovar museum) - Zachęta Gallery, Warsaw;
•       1997 - "Pokolenia. 25 Lat Galerii Studio" (Generation. 25 Years of the Studio Gallery) - Zachęta Gallery, Warsaw; Artyści Galerii Koło (Koło Gallery Artists) - Koło Gallery, Gdańsk;
•       1998 - "Fragment kolekcji 3" (Collection fragment 3) - Zachęta Gallery, Warsaw;
•       1999 - "Amici di Tworki" - Instytut Kultury Polskiej (Polish Culture Institute), Paris, France;
•       2000 - "Dwanaście obrazów" (Twelve paintings) - Koło Gallery, Gdańsk; "Die Vier Jahreszeiten" - Kunsthalle Schirn, Frankurt am Main, Germany; 18. Festiwal Polskiego Malarstwa Współczesnego (18th Festival of Polish Contemporary Painting) - Muzeum Narodowe (National Museum), Galeria Sztuki Współczesnej (Contemporary Art Gallery), Szczecin;
•       2002 - "Z kolekcji Zachęty" (From the Zachęta Collection) - Zachęta Narodowa Galeria Sztuki (Zachęta National Art Gallery), Warsaw; "Co widzi trupa wyszklona źrenica" (What sees the corpse’s glazed pupil) - Zachęta Narodowa Galeria Sztuki (Zachęta National Art Gallery), Warsaw; Muzeum Okręgowe im. Leona Wyczółkowskiego (Leon Wyczółkowski Regional Museum), Bydgoszcz;
•       2003 - "Książka-Obiekt" (Book-Object) - Galeria Krytyków Pokaz (Pokaz Critic’s Gallery), Warsaw;
•       2004 - "Genius loci. Grafika w kręgu ASP w Warszawie" (Genius loci. Graphic Arts from the Academy of Fine Arts circle) - Akademia Sztuk Pięknych (Academy of Fine Arts), Warsaw; "Warszawa - Moskwa 1900-2000" (Warsaw - Moscow 1900-2000) - Zachęta Narodowa Galeria Sztuki (Zachęta National Art Gallery), Warsaw; Państwowa Galeria Trietiakowska (The State Tretyakov Gallery), Moscow (2005);

      2006 - "Malarstwo polskie xxi wieku" (XXI Century Polish painting) - Zachęta Narodowa Galeria Sztuki (Zachęta National Art Gallery