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Witold-K. Exhibition of the works donated by the family 23.04-19.05.2013 Witold-K. Exhibition of the works donated by the family
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As part of the cycle „Collection +”, the National Museum in Krakow presented, in the Gallery of 20th Century Art, in the Main Hall, several dozen works of Witold-K. This is a gift to the Museum from the artist's family – Laurie Kaczanowska and Wit Thomas Kaczanowski. The exhibition was enriched with selected works from the artist's collection and the portrait of Witold-K made by Pablo Picasso.

Witold-K (Wit Leszek Kaczanowski) was born in 1932 in Warsaw. After studies at the Academy of Fine Arts he designed posters, created - among others - artworks for the "Świat" magazine, illustrated stories of Stanisław Dygat, painted wall decorations, including the ceiling light at the theatre of the Community Centre in Oświęcim, painted paintings. He had his first individual exhibition in 1960 at the Actors' Club SPATiF in Warsaw. In those early paintings he made references to Pablo Picasso, Henry Moore, Tadeusz Makowski.

In 1964 the artist went for a scholarship to Paris, and did not come to Poland for many years. In 1968 he went to live in the USA. In 1966 he had his first exhibition abroad in Galerie 3+2 in Paris. He showed "figures", described by Jacques Prevert as "people pained with love in fleeting silence and importunate noise of everyday life. You can watch them, seeing only backs, and then you yourself - just as they are now - will be watched from the back by other visitors who will take Your place in front of the painting."

After leaving for the US, Witold-K presented abstract artworks at the international artwork exhibition in La Boetie Gallery, by the side of such celebrities as: Alexander Calder, Marc Chagall, Alberto Giacometti, Henri Matisse, Joan Miró and Pablo Picasso. In America he started to make sculptures, and even murals. He presented his works in many individual as well as collective exhibitions. In Poland we could see them in 1991 in a collective exhibition "Jesteśmy" ("We are here") organized in Zachęta, presenting the works of expatriate artists. But the biggest exhibition of his works so far was the exhibition at the auction house Sotheby in Amsterdam in 2007.

The exhibition at the Gallery of 20th Century Polish Art at the National Museum in Krakow presented mostly the works donated by the artist's family - Laurie Kaczanowska and Wit Thomas Kaczanowski. This was the cross section through the artist's work: a summary of his artistic path over 60 years long.
At the opening of the exhibition on 22 April at 6.00 p.m. the artist was decorated with the Silver Medal for Merit to Culture "Gloria Artis" awarded by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.

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