Zofia and Roman Artymowski Collection

Roman Artymowski graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow in 1949. In 1950, he moved to Warsaw and began teaching at the Faculty of Painting, Academy of Fine Arts. In Baghdad, he taught graphic arts and printing at Institute of Fine Arts and Tahrir College, University of Baghdad, between 1959 and 1960. During his second stay in the Iraqi capital, in the years 1962-1967, Artymowski held the position of Specialist in Graphic Arts at the Academy of Fine Arts. Following his return to Poland, from 1969 to 1975, Artymowski worked at the State Higher School of Fine Arts in Łódź, where he served as rector from 1971 to 1974. While in Łódź, he funded the Department of Graphic Arts and published a manual “Introduction to Painting Technology.” Then, Roman Artymowski returned to the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw for a period of two years, before leaving the country to teach abroad. In 1976, he taught in Damascus, followed by Baghdad from 1976 to 1979, and Asilah, Morocco, in 1978. Upon his return to Poland, Artymowski resumed his work at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, where he remained until the end of his professional life and held position of the rector between 1983 and 1984. The Middle East, its desert landscape and ancient civilizations, impacted the work of Artymowski. These influences become perhaps most visible in the motif of the sun that recurred in artist’s work since the 1960s. During their time in Baghdad, Roman and Zofia Artymowscy were active in the Iraqi art life. Together, the couple showed their work at the Gallery of Iraqi Engineers Union (1960) and at a collective exhibition for the Association of Iraqi Artists (1965). Also, Roman Artymowski held two solo exhibitions, in 1966 at the prestigious Al-Wasiti gallery and in 1979 at Ar-Riwaq Gallery, both in Baghdad.

Zofia Artymowska graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow in 1950 and worked there as an assistant till 1951. In 1952, she lectured at the Faculty of Painting, Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, where she remained till 1955. In Iraq, she taught mural painting and drawing at the Institute of Fine Arts and Tahrir College, University of Baghdad, between 1960 and 1961. During her second stay in the Iraqi capital, from 1963 to 1968, Zofia Artymowska taught painting, drawing and composition at the Department of Architecture, University of Baghdad. She had three exhibitions in Baghdad: one together with her husband at the Gallery of Iraqi Engineers Union (1960) and two solo exhibitions – at Al-Wasiti Gallery (1965) and the Museum of Modern Art (1967). From 1971, she worked at the State Higher School of Fine Arts in Wrocław. In 1970, Artymowska inaugurated her signature painting series, “Polyforms.” The paintings were explorations in spatial composition, experiments in juxtaposition of various forms. “Polyforms” were created with meticulous mathematical precision and made use of different media, including oil and acrylic paintings, drawings, graphics, and collages. A particularly striking effect was achieved by combining polyform drawings or serigraphs with photographs – often landscapes and architectural motifs from the Middle East.