Detailed biography:
Bolesław Polnar (born June 30, 1952 in Opole, died February 10, 2014 there) - He was one of the greatest Polish graphic artists and painters. He was a teacher at the Secondary School of Fine Arts. Jan Cybis in Opole, which he himself graduated several dozen years earlier. He expressed himself in painting and drawing, and also designed posters and theater sets. In the years 1972-1977 he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts. Jan Matejko in Kraków, where he obtained a diploma in graphics in the studio of prof. Włodzimierz Kunz. Bolesław Polnar presented his work (mainly painting) at nearly 100 individual exhibitions and equally many group exhibitions in Poland and abroad. His work was presented in many Polish cities, including: Kraków, Wrocław, Katowice, Warsaw, Opole. In Germany, among others Berlin, Munich, Duren, Oldenburg. In France, among others Montpellier, Chartres, Paris. In the USA, among others New York (Consulate of the Republic of Poland) Washington (Embassy of the Republic of Poland) San Francisco.... In Sweden, Helsinborg ... Italy, Verona ("Meridiana" Gallery) In the European Parliament in Brussels as part of the Polish Presidency of the European Union. In the Czech Republic, among others, Ostrava (Theatre), Krnov (City Museum) and Opava. He took part in international painting plein-air events many times, including: as commissioner. He also belonged to the Association of Polish Artists. He was the winner of many awards and distinctions. B.Polnar won the 1st prize in the National Painting Competition. J. Spychalski in Poznań (1977). A year later, he was recognized at Bielska Jesień 78. He was awarded many times with prestigious regional awards, including the Award of the Marshal of the Opole Voivodeship, the Mayor of Opole, the Journalists' Award "Złota Spinka 2008", and the BCC Lodge Award for promoting art. In April 2013 The Ministry of Culture and Art awarded Bolesław Polnar the GLORIA ARTIS order. In 2006, together with his partner, he founded the BP-Atelier gallery, which presented the works of artists from Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany every month. The gallery was of a promotional nature and its program and atmosphere differs from commercial galleries. The BP-ATELIER Gallery has prepared 72 exhibitions of artists expressing themselves in various media (painting, sculpture, graphics, photography, performance). Several dozen meetings of poets and writers were also held. He lived and worked in Opole and was strongly associated with this city. He was the most popular teacher at the Opole art school. He won the hearts of his students with his friendly manner, great sense of humor and great distance towards himself. His works can be found in Polish museums (Opole, Kraków, Katowice, Warsaw) and private collections in France, England, the USA, Germany and Poland.
Bolesław Polnar, man-institution. Painter, graphic artist, educator. He was one of the best and most recognizable Opole artists. Award-winning and appreciated. Bought for showrooms and apartment blocks. Loved by students, artists, art critics and "ordinary people". He won over huge crowds of people with his charisma, talent and perverse humor. Everyone who had the opportunity to meet him emphasizes that he was an extraordinary man. A lady once asked about people of art by a radio journalist said: "There are no artists in Opole, unless Mr. Polnar." For ordinary mortals, it has always been the first and most famous name of Opole (and not only Opole) art. More than two years have passed since his death, and some people still cannot believe that he is no longer with us. Fortunately, his work remains, which we are honored to present at this auction.
Bolesław Polnar, a master of lines, had "an unbearably graceful lightness of lines", as one critic put it. He was a great portrait painter, and he often immortalized himself on canvas. "It sometimes happens that artists are their only model. Moreover, when it comes to self-portraits, you can allow yourself for experiments, deformations, and malice. They don't have to be licked faces," he explained at the opening of one of the exhibitions of his works. One of the motifs often used in Polnar's works were women. He painted so many of them that at one point he was even called a "painter of women". He himself said that it was a label attached to him mainly by journalists, but it was not without foundation. Polnar explained that women in art are standard - they have always been its subject. "So I paint women because they exist," the artist commented. Despite their seemingly spare form, Bolesław Polnar's paintings are characterized by a huge fascination with the female body, an almost obsessive immersion in its curves, warmth, softness and smell. Saturated with eroticism in every detail of the body - the tendons at the ankle, the shape of the neck, the dimples at the collarbones. He achieved such perfection in this delicate sphere that the sight of expressively intertwined legs of dancers during tango or the outline of a back is enough to evoke a storm of emotions in the viewer. His models fully submit to the Master. They pose and provoke - aware of their own beauty. The girls on Polnar's canvases, stripped of Klimt's glitter and Art Nouveau madness, tempt and lure, just like Viennese ladies from the Fin de siècle era.
Picture description
A painting on a square plan (60x60) from 1998. Acrylic on board. Portrait. Author's title "Opole". This work is the quintessence of Bolesław Polnar's work - on the one hand, we have a theme typical of him - a woman, and in the background the Opole town hall tower. The picture was painted on a grand scale. It is characterized by vivid, saturated colors, perfect tonal transitions, harmoniously combined with high contrast. In this work, she pays tribute to the immortal beauty immortalized in the painting, creating admirable canons of femininity according to her own taste. The beautiful and tempting lips of an elegant brunette, born from the scale of blueness and Polnar's thoughts, seem to hum an immortal hit: "Ich bin von Kopf bis Fuß auf Liebe eingestellt", and her lush, dynamic hair seems to envelop the viewer and draw them into a "lunatic dance". ". The painting is beautiful - it tempts with a riot of vivid colors, you can get lost in it and it is difficult to take your eyes off it.
Parameters and state of preservation
Own technique - acrylic on board. Dimensions: 59x59 cm. Dimensions including frame: 60.5x60.5 cm. Signed ld "B. Polnar". On the back there is an author's inscription in felt-tip pen: "POLNAR BOLESŁAW "OPOLE" 60x60 Acryl '98." The painting is framed in a minimalist metal frame. Perfect condition - the painting is ready to hang.
