A master painter faithful to Podlasie

He has spent almost his entire life in the village of Waliły. This is where he creates his works, tends his garden and breeds unusual chicken races. The artist often stresses his Belarusian roots – his family has lived here for many generations.

The painter graduated from the High School of Fine Arts in Supraśl near the city of Bialystok, and the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. He is a professor of fine arts, and his works are exhibited by galleries and collected by admirers of contemporary art all over the world. Yet, it is the village in the Podlasie region that he considers his “centre of the world”, whose landscape and nature are always reflected in his works. The artist says that Waliły is his natural environment, one of a kind microcosm.

The uniqueness of works of arts created by Leon Tarasewicz originates from his observation of the Podlasie landscape. The artist depicts forests, fields and birds in a genuine way. He portrays the repetitive rhythm of nature by means of characteristic spots and stripes of colors as well as the daylight which, even with its outward immateriality, is a fundamental ingredient of his art.

The painter is famous for redefining painting and going beyond what exists in the art world. He chooses not only large format canvas, but also walls, floors, insides and outsides of the galleries where his works are exhibited. He often makes the viewers tread on paintings and get lost in the labyrinth of painting installations.

Professor Leon Tarasewicz created the logo of the Podlaskie Province: the European wood bison woven out of colours. Knowledge about the history of the region, its cultural diversity, landscapes and folk art resulted in the creation of the colourful logo, which combines tradition reflected in the features of cross folk embroidery with modernity reflected in pixels.