Viewed as one of the greatest artists of his genre, Beksiński’s impact can be seen to this day - perforating all elements of popular culture, it is impossible not to view the Slender Man memes or the summer’s big horror hit, Longlegs, without seeing Beksiński’s subtle influence.
As if emphasizing his relevance, a new mural at the entrance of Warsaw’s Służew metro station is the latest homage to this groundbreaking artist. Unveiled on Sunday, the artwork was executed by Bartosz Podlewski and joins part of a larger trail of pre-existing metro murals that honor the heroes of south Warsaw’s Ursynów district.
Painted in the format of a three dimensional polygon mesh, the XL artwork is embellished by one of Beksiński’s best-known quotes: “I want to paint as if photographing my dreams”.
The location of the mural was not incidental, for it was close by - on No. 6 Sonaty street - that the artist lived and died. Murdered on February 21, 2005, Beksiński’s death shocked the country - stabbed 17 times by his cleaner’s son after he refused to loan him a few hundred złotys, his killing robbed the art world of one of its great contemporary talents.
Born in the south-eastern Polish town of Sanok in 1929, Beksiński’s transition to artist was as unorthodox as his later paintings. After completing an architectural degree at Kraków’s University of Technology, he had a spell working in construction before returning to his hometown and designing buses for a local automotive firm.
It was photography that first aroused his artistic instinct, and despite basic beginnings he later carved a name as one of the more innovative photographers of his generation.
“I had been taking photographs since 1940, I think,” he once explained. “Somewhere around the beginning of the war, my father gave me his old camera. Although I took a lot of photographs, they were not creative in nature. I took pictures of my colleagues, situations that happened, tanks with soldiers, even airports.”
In the 1950s, Beksiński’s style evolved - and fast. Starting out by presenting atmospheric landscapes and architectural shots, he soon established a more ‘surrealistic-expressionist’ approach.
Often toying with sadomasochistic themes, among his more famous works was a picture taken in 1957 titled Sadist’s Corset. Presenting his wife’s nude body tightly bound in a cat’s cradle of string, it was a striking tribute to his nuanced art.
However, Beksiński eventually found his passion for photography waning, with the artist later admitting he felt constrained by the medium. After a fleeting flirtation with sculpture, he turned his hand to painting, and it was this that was to prove the seminal turning point in his life.
In 1964, an exhibition in Warsaw catapulted him into the public eye, but it wasn’t until three years later that he decided to dedicate himself to art. Fired from his work at the bus firm, he threw himself into painting.
Paying no heed to prevailing trends, Beksiński instead forged his own path, unlocking something dormant within. From the late 1960s, for approximately two decades he experimented with ‘fantastic realism’, creating a series of paintings and drawings that were often both disturbing and provocative.
Dominated by sinister undertones, death and decay became common motifs in his work. As if stepping into a hellish nightmare, those viewing his output found themselves thrust into a world of twisted torsos and skeletal figures presented against apocalyptic landscapes. Ominous, eerie and defined by their detail, Beksiński’s images made him a household name.
For his part, Beksiński offered no interpretation of his paintings, often stating that he himself did not know their meaning. “I don't want to say or convey anything,” he once said. “I just paint what comes to my mind.”
As if to perpetuate this air of mystery, his works remained untitled, and it came as little surprise that he reputedly burnt a horde of his undisplayed art in his yard before making the move to Warsaw in 1977. In terms of art, Beksiński was an enigmatic wisp.
Surprisingly, his homelife was far less intriguing. Rejecting the celebrity spotlight, he instead lived quietly with his wife and son, enjoying a modest life in keeping with his character.
Eventually, his output came full circle. Reverting to photography in the 1990s, advances in technology allowed him to revisit his former passion and experiment in ways he had never been able to before.
Unfortunately for Beksiński, tragedy lay close by. In 1998, his wife and muse, Zofia, died. A year later, his son, a popular radio presenter and prolific translator, committed suicide on Christmas Eve. Six years later, Beksiński himself would be dead, killed in the most brutal of circumstances.
His legacy, though, survives, and not just through his work - it is perhaps on this point that one needs to linger. Beksiński did more than just paint. Through his body of work, he penetrated something deeper, taking viewers on a visceral journey into the darkest depths of their imagination. Through this he continues to inspire new generations. He is deservedly remembered as one of the greats.
