Between pop culture and classicism: the colorful fantasies of Janusz Orzechowski

By Michel Fily, January 26, 2019

Janusz Orzechowski graduated from the Faculty of Graphic Arts at the High School of Craft Art in his hometown Szczecin in Poland. After graduating in 2006, he gradually decided to devote himself more to painting than to graphic design. Between Pop Art and Surrealism, his works are as much illustrations of his time and his imagination, influenced by the worlds of cinema and superheroes, but also by that of classical painters and television. Janusz has since participated in numerous group and individual exhibitions in Warsaw and elsewhere in Poland, as well as in Europe and the United States, during which he has won numerous awards.

What triggered your artistic career?

I always liked to draw and paint, I graduated in applied arts and especially in graphic design. During my studies, I specialized in poster and illustration, and after graduating I worked for printing and advertising agencies for a while, hoping to start my own business. After work I spent my free time painting. And my paintings began to interest buyers, until the day when one of my works was auctioned and exceeded the amount for which I planned to sell it. That’s what convinced me to no longer devote myself to my art.

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Tell us about your inspirations and influences?

As a child, I was passionate about comics, sci-fi movies and computer games. In short, I share the collective unconscious of my generation. It is from this modern world that I drew my first inspirations and they continue to feed my work until today. I create large figurative frescoes that are kind of collages, between Pop Art, Realism, Street Art and Surrealism. My compositions take the form of dreamlike visions, while being very anchored in this world and in the present, and very individual too. I borrow films, comics, but also classic iconic works and great painters realistic. My landscapes, which have their own rules, are full of details and symbols.

What are your techniques and creative media?

Currently, I mainly do oil painting on canvas. I also do a lot of drawing and computer graphics, outside the walls …

Tell us about Street Art in your country…

Art as a whole is gaining popularity in recent years in Poland. Traditional art, but also new artists arouse more and more interest. The auction market has developed very strongly, which in the case of the younger generation is risky because prices are quite low. But overall there is a good momentum. In Poland, there are more and more walls for Street Artists. Which perfectly improves the beauty of cities.

What is your relationship with your audience?

Like any artist of my generation, my relationships with the public go through social media. But I try every time I participate in exhibitions to invite and meet people with whom I have exchanged on the Internet. And each time they are very good opportunities.

What message are you trying to convey through your works?

I like funny things, unreal, but also apocalyptic. I try to assert the world, despite its decline, in a kind of logic twisted entropy … And at the same time, I extrapolate a humanism that reaches the limits of the possible. I reject metaphysics and transcendence in favor of a hedonistic, sometimes frenetic, dissolution. I ironically expose the hermeticity and lack of preparation of modern individuals to the noises they generate.

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What are your current artistic activities and your future projects?

I am focused on my painting and I work constantly to improve it. I’m quite happy as an artist at this stage, and grateful that I no longer have to work in advertising or printing to make a living …