About the author

Andrzej Strumillo was born on October 23, 1928 in Vilnius. He completed his studies under the supervision of Wladyslaw Strzeminski at the State Higher School of Visual Arts in Lodz, and at the Fine Arts Academy in Cracow in 1950. He was an assistant to those schools (1949-1953), a contract professor to the Fine Arts Academy in Cracow (1977-1980), lecturer of the Theological Catholic Academy in Suwalki (1987-1988). From 1982 to 1984 he was the manager of the Graphic Presentation Unit to the UN General Secretariat in New York. He performs in many areas: painting, graphic arts, drawing, photography, book design, exhibitions, stage design. He has been photographing since 1945. Mr Strumillo has published 2 volumes of poetry: Moje (Mine) and Jak (How), as well as numerous books on the nature and culture (Nepal, among many others). The artistic results of his travels are drawing and photography cycles of China (1954 and 1961), Italy (1957), Far East, USSR (1958), India (1959, 1970 and 1972), Mongolia (1967), Vietnam (1969, 1970 and 1978), Nepal (1974, 1980), Japan and Thailand (1978).

He has built a collection of art and material culture items of Far and Middle East for the Ethnography Museum in Cracow and the Museum of Asia and the Pacific in Warsaw. Among many of his awards is the state award, two awards from Minister of Culture and Art, and award from Foreign Affairs Ministry, and an award from the City of Warsaw.

He lives in Mackowa Ruda on the Czarna Hancza River in the Suwalszczyzna region.

Strumillo

(…) A single manner to capture the world is not enough for him. Strumillo does painting, drawing, variations of graphic arts, sculpture, theatrical visual arts, photography. He builds a house, designs exhibitions, creates posters. He also delves into the history of the form, he traces it, writes books and entwines words in poetical texts. He collects around himself and in his memory that which is noteworthy. He teaches technique and analysis. He is a guardian and protector of wise tradition. He understands trees and a dog’s speech. He breeds horses. He is creative.

The times of Strumillo’s grandest off-Europe travels are over – then he would be drawn by cultural currents of remote areas of the world and different manifestations of thought in which he would seek the universal order. In his travels across Asia he became acquainted, just as with a field weapon, with the simplest paper. Drawing became a habit for him – simple yet timeless document of the visible; also as a way to analyse things.

Danuta Wroblewska

/text from the exhibition catalogue to Andrzej Strumillo’s graphic works; Minsk – Grodno 2009