Raintings byJuliusz Lewandowski (Juliusz Martwy)

Born in Warsaw in 1977, Juliusz Lewandowski, known as Juliusz Martwy, is a self-taught Polish artist. He began his career with illustrations for an edition of French writer Isidore Lucien Ducasse’s “The Songs of Maldoror”, written under his nom de plume Comte de Lautréamont,  and illustrations for the literary works of Marquis de Sade, famous for his libertine sexuality. Martwy draws inspiration for his work from the figurative styles of expressionism, cubism, the New Objectivity, and Russian traditional painting.

An important part of Martwy’s collective works are the autobiographical threads, through which he presents the universal problems of human nature. He deals with social, political and moral issues in his paintings, both historical and contemporary, such as the past civil war in Spain, the French Revolution, and the current political situation in Poland. 

Apart from multi-faceted genre scenes, Juliusz Martwy paints intimate figurative portraits within spaces that depict small narrative, often erotic, incidents. His palette varies from scenes executed in tones of exclusively one color to those with either contrasting or complimentary colors. The portrayed figures, who readily express their emotions to the viewers, are composed through the use of strong lines and blocks of color. 

In 2011, Martwy had his initial exhibition of work at London’s Showcase Richmix Gallery in Bethnal Green. He entered his work at the 2011 Modern Fine Art International Artists Group Exhibition held at London’s Westbank Gallery. Martwy also showed in the 2011 Polish Erotic Art exhibition held at the Museum of Eroticism in Cracow, and later in 2014, as part of the Group Exhibition of EroArt at Warsaw’s Erotic Expo. In 2017, Martwy had a solo exhibition at the Talinn Portrait Gallery in Estonia. His work has been available through the Catharine Miller Gallery located in the Chelsea area of London.

More of Juliusz Martwy’s work and contact information may be found at https://www.instagram.com/juliuszmartwy/?hl=en