Dystopian Surrealism or Becoming Realism…

Zdzisław Beksiński
(1929 – 2005)
A leading figure in contemporary Polish art.

Beksiński was known to be a pleasant person who took enjoyment from conversation and had a keen sense of humor. He was modest and somewhat shy, avoiding public events such as the openings of his own exhibitions. He had obsessive–compulsive disorder, he referred to his condition as “neurotic diarrhea”. But his paintings were mostly about doomsday with a nightmarish lucidity. 

He was adamant that even he did not know the meaning of his artworks and was uninterested in possible interpretations; in keeping with this notion, he refused to provide titles for any of his drawings or paintings.

• Beksiński’s wife, Zofia, died in 1998; a year later, on Christmas Eve 1999, 
• His son Tomasz (a popular radio presenter, music journalist, and philologist who translated media including Silence of The Lambs, Casablanca & Reservoir Dogs, and more) committed suicide by drug overdose. Beksiński discovered his son’s body.
• On 21 February 2005, Beksiński was found dead in his flat in Warsaw with 17 stab wounds on his body; two of the wounds were determined to have been fatal.