Marek Okrassa

MAREK OKRASSA.
Born in 1975, he studied painting in the studio of professor M. Swieszewski and drawing in the studio of Maria Targonska.
Okrassa was twice awarded with a grant from the Ministry of Culture and Arts and in 1999 he graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts with a special award. He was awarded with the Silver Spur in 2000 and he received an honourable mention of Franciszka Eibisch Foundation in 2004 at the National Museum of Warsaw. In 2018 a large monographic exposition of Marek Okrassa took place at the National Gallery of Art in Lviv ( Lemberg).
"Is it possible for a painting to be simultaneously a deep sociological analysis of the human being and a complex poetic metaphor? It proves that yes, indeed. Marek Okrassa seeks out for inspiration for his art by visiting crowded beaches, popular cafes and amusement parks. He observes various human types and tries to follow the typical patterns of behaviour. Numerous sketches, drawings and notes are being made, from which emerges a complicated web of interhuman relationships. In such a public places people move as if they were free particles, but the painter, being a keen observer, recollects some logic out of the chaos of urban life. Okrassa is fascinated with the hidden aspects of the life of a common man. It is the way of how this anonymous world becomes concrete, well known and acceptable. Perhaps it is a personal way of familiarising oneself with the reality, of translating the new into a complete artistic show. This is the simultaneous creation of a complex sociological fresco and a metaphorical image of the reality. The world of Marek Okrassa pictures, due to the talent and the intelligent narration, may tell us much about man."
J.Napiórkowska