Painter and critic. Studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts and art history at the Jagiellonian University in Cracow. He is a pivotal/key figure in post-war Polish art, having a decisive influence on the next generations of artists who came after him. He is the author of the paintings that have become the icons of modern art in Poland. His suggestive vision and tragic life along with the mystery of his untimely death established Wroblewski’s legend.
He believed in the ideological and propagandist mission of art, which initially resulted in avant-garde strategies, and subsequently in figurative art that was intended to be politically engaged and “communicative for the ordinary viewer”. He is the author of the dramatic series “Executions” (1948-49) and a number of similar works exploring the subject of death (symbolised by the blue color), and so-called ideological paintings (“Two Married Women”, 1949) – in which he exposes the tenets of a new communist faith while remaining faithful/devoted to the principles of painting. Nevertheless, the cutting-edge/modern form was not approved by the communist regime, and Wroblewski’s means of expression were considered to have been not optimistic enough. Called “ barbarian”, he would try to convert to Social Realism but with various effects. At the end of his life, inspired by primitive art, Wroblewski carried out an austere formula of figuration, introducing distinctive color, unadorned/restraint form, and static composition.
His artistic output is the most crucial point of reference within the tradition of figurative art in Poland. In the seventies, Wroblewski’s oeuvre was almost completely forgotten due to the strong promotion of Polish constructivist tradition (Strzeminski-Kobro-Stazewski). In the eighties, it was one of the sources of inspiration for a new wave of painting. Editing the book “The Unknown Andrzej Wroblewski” (1994) and discovering the unknown works of the artists, the Zderzak Gallery launched his great reappearance both on the art scene and art market. Zderzak Gallery also published a book “Chlopiec na zoltym tle. Teksty o Andrzeju Wroblewskim” (2009) with the theoretical texts of Jan Michalski about the artist.
