Andrzej Fogtt (b. 1950), from the series 'Elements', 1991

Studied at the State Higher School of Fine Arts in Poznań under Prof. Zdzisław Kępiński and Magdalena Abakanowicz. He received his diploma in 1974. He participated in exhibitions since the mid-1970s. In 1984, he won the Grand Prix at the Festival of Polish Contemporary Painting in Szczecin. That year he represented Poland at the XLI Venice Biennale. There he showed a work co-signed with Bożenna Biskupska - the environment "Mystery of Time," composed of his 14 monumental painting compositions and 30 equally powerful sculptures by Biskupska. The style of Fogtt's paintings at this peak of his career was based on the contrast of centrally located, hieratic silhouettes and the fine, shimmering "scales" of brushstrokes that build them up. A similar style persists in the artist's later works. In 2009 he was awarded the Gloria Artis medal by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage.