Born
in 1956 in the southern
Polish city of Wadowice,
Marysia Burr began her
study of art at the
Bielsko-Biala High
School of Fine Arts,
from which she graduate
Magna Cum Laude. She
then moved to Warsaw and
entered the Polish
Academy of Fine Arts
where she majored in
Graphic Arts with
special emphasis on
painting and drawing.
Her early art
experience was greatly
impacted by association
and study with two of
Poland's outstanding
artists: Henryk
Stazewski, whose
abstract painting
focused on the use of
lines, light and color,
and Eugeniuz Markowski,
one of her Academy
professors who shared
with her not only his
skill as a painter of
realism and
expressionism, but the
energy and motivation
that is so much a part
of art. She was also
impressed with American
artists, most notably
with the bold formal
style of Dutch-born
Willem de Koonig - one
of America's preeminent
Abstract Expressionists.
Marysia became a
well-known artist in
Warsaw and was the
recipient of many prizes
for her realistic
portrayals of the human
form, presented in oils,
watercolors, and pencil.
She graduated from the
Academy with a Masters
degree in art in 1981,
and shortly thereafter
emigrated to the United
States.
After settling in
southern California,
Marysia's artistic focus
changed from the
portayal of human
figures to landscapes
and nature forms, and
increasinly incorporated
light, color, and shapes
in a continuous spiral
of motion. She sought to
resolve the intirnisic
dichotomy between
realistic and abstract
art. This is apparent in
both the color and
composition of her
paintings.
In her blending of
these two conflicting
approaches to art
subjects, Marysia begins
with a realistic
approach to her
subjects, choosing
essentially unremarkable
scenes and objects to
paint. As the work
progresses, she subtly
introduces the
counterpoint of some
abstract shapes and
colors, which release
the painting from the
confines of rigorous
realism and allows the
viewer's imagination to
embrace not only the
reality, but the dream
as well. This is what
makes her work so
exciting and what makes
her images remain in
your mind long after you
have left the gallery.
Marysia has shown her
work across America and
in Europe, having had
one-woman shows in Los
Angeles, Newport Beach,
West Germany, and
Poland. She has
participated in more
than 20 group
exhibitions over the
past ten years,
including the
Contemporary Artist's
Exhibition in Seoul,
South Korea. Among
Marysia's professional
achievements are the
1988 "Diploma of
Excellence" for
outstanding quality in
oil painting, presented
by the International Art
Competition sponsored by
Art Horizons in New York
City, and in the same
year, the "Diploma Di
Merit" for her oil
painting, "Skipping
Stones", entered in the
International Art
Exhibition in Viterbo,
Italy.
Marysia Burr has
forged a very
distinctive style be
creating brilliant and
expressive pieces. As
her reputation grows,
her work is expected to
be a vital point of
interest in museums,
private collections, and
art galleries throughout
the world.