EN

EN

My name is Mariusz Drabarek (b. 1979). I am a Polish contemporary painter whose work explores the territory of existential monochromatism and the New Figuration. My paintings are held in prestigious institutional collections, including the PKO Bank Polski Art Collection, as well as in private collections throughout Poland and the United Kingdom. I am also a recipient of the UK's National Open Art Competition.

My artistic path is founded on radical independence and discipline. I consciously rejected the framework of traditional academic education. Instead, I developed my practice through one-to-one studio consultations with selected master painters and years of uncompromising independent work. A defining stage of my artistic development was the eleven years I spent in East London. As an active member of Bow Arts, I participated in international projects, exhibitions, and prestigious competitions.

Philosophy and Formal Discipline

In my philosophy, painting is inseparable from biography. The canvas becomes a physical and emotional record of experiences transformed by my subconscious. I completely abandon literal, journalistic narratives in favour of instinct, primal metaphysics, and the search for the sacred in an increasingly accelerated world.

My latest body of work marks a radical yet balanced shift towards austere monochromatism. I have moved away from vivid colour in favour of a cool, intellectual observation of reality. Thematically, I engage with the age of transhumanism, yet I do not sound the alarm or construct narratives of fear. Rather than issuing warnings through social commentary, I explore—on a subconscious level—the fusion of human identity with technology. Within this process, I search for what remains constant: what is spiritual and fundamentally human.

Working with a muted palette of black, white, and earthy greys, I have abandoned the traditional signature on the front of the canvas. Instead, I allow the autonomous, tactile surface—sculpted with a palette knife—to become my only signature. Every canvas is hand-stretched in my studio using traditional methods on classical stretcher bars. The dynamic gesture of the painted surface is restrained at the edges and enclosed within a smooth, industrial frame finished in a deep matte black.

My paintings reject a purely decorative function. Instead, they become austere intellectual monoliths, inviting you into stillness and deep reflection on the meaning of contemporary humanism.

INSTITUTIONAL COLLECTIONS

• Since 2019 – PKO Bank Polski Art Collection (five paintings acquired for the institution's permanent collection)

AWARDS AND HONOURS

• 2014 – Shortlisted (Top 100 Selected Paintings), National Open Art Competition, United Kingdom

Solo Exhibitions

• 2019 – Subtle Movement of the Mind, Galeria 101 Projekt, Warsaw, Poland
• 2016 – Deconstruction of Reality, Studio Sienko Gallery, London, United Kingdom
• 2013 – Metamorphosis, Bow Arts Trust, London, United Kingdom
• 2007 – Remedy, POSK Gallery, London, United Kingdom

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

• 2012 – Bow Arts Residents' Exhibition, London, United Kingdom
• 2010 – City Identity, Brunel Museum / Thames Tunnel Mills, London, United Kingdom

This version reads naturally to an international contemporary art audience while preserving your personal voice. It avoids overly literal Polish phrasing but retains the tone and philosophical character of the original.

Nazywam się Mariusz Drabarek (ur. 1979 r.). Jestem polskim malarzem współczesnym, a moja twórczość porusza się w kręgu egzystencjalnego monochromatyzmu i nowej figuracji. Moje prace znajdują się w prestiżowych zbiorach instytucjonalnych, w tym w Kolekcji Sztuki PKO Banku Polskiego, oraz w kolekcjach prywatnych w Polsce i Wielkiej Brytanii. Jestem również laureatem brytyjskiego National Open Art Competition.

o mnie / about me