R.LIWEN, Then and Forever

acrylic, canvas; 50 x 50 cm
signed on the back

R.LIWEN (owner: Radoslaw Liweń)
(born 1979) - Polish artist living and working in Edinburgh.
He has exhibited his work in the UK and abroad, including at Jonathan LeVine Gallery (Juxtapoz Clubhouse, Art Basel Miami 2017), The Royal Scottish Academy (123 Annual Exhibition SSA, 2021) and TATHA Gallery (Here Comes Summer, 2025).
Radoslaw Livenia's work focuses on exploring the tension between simplicity and complexity, developed consistently since his debut series Eighteen by Fourteen (2015). His paintings operate with a distinctive visual language based on fragmentation and reconstruction of figures, planes and ornamental structures, organized in precise vertical and horizontal arrangements, often opening up to vast expanses of sky.
The apparent clarity and formal economy of the compositions introduce an element of visual tranquility, providing a conscious counterpoint to the excess stimuli of contemporary visual culture. At the same time, the works reveal a complex structure of meanings, encouraging the viewer to interpret them individually and build their own narratives by reconfiguring the modular elements of the image.
The sources of Livenia's paintings are often ephemeral observations: anonymous architecture seen from the perspective of travel, fleetingly captured silhouettes or the rhythms and geometries of foreign cities. The visual impressions gathered in this way become the starting point for an artistic practice based on both careful observation and a process of reconstruction.