Włodzimierz Kukliński, aka bohomaz13, is a Polish self-taught painter and books illustrator. If you’ve not yet heard about this artist, it is perhaps because he is a discreet man, even shy, of his own confession, leading him to avoid intimidating meetings with the public. But Wlodek (his diminutive) doesn’t lack of ambition : as a child and dreamer, he wished to emulate Jan Matejko, one of the most renowned Polish artists.
Today, I do not have enough time to dream, but I still love what I do and if I had to start all over again, I would not want to do anything else in my life.
The dream, however, is omnipresent in his work, traditional oil paintings (without any Photoshop retouching, he insists on that) avoiding all kind of trends and fashion. Influenced by nineteenth century’s Symbolism, Art Nouveau’s elegance and also surrealism, Wlodek captures feminity in its very genuine simplicity. His portraits, starring dreamy 80’s grunge girls, have indeed very minimalistic pastel backgrounds, directing all the attention on the fine details of the feminine features and nude bodies, and delivering an almost physical contact with the models’ feelings. Playing with surrealistic realities and symbols, the canvas plays a hide-and-seek with the viewer, to introduce him to Freudian and philosophical questions such as loneliness and the sense of existence. For more art, follow him on Facebook.
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