NCU News
Culture
‘The Dreamed World’ by Jack Yerka
Jacek Yerka, an outstanding painter, poster artist and illustrator, returns to his hometown Toruń and to his alma mater. An exhibition of his works, 'A Dreamed World', will mark the 80th anniversary of the Nicolaus Copernicus University.
The vernissage and a meeting with the artist will take place on 18 January 2025 at the West Station Gallery in the Academic Centre for Culture and the Arts 'Od Nowa'. Anna Walkowska, the exhibition curator, announces: - 'We have managed to collect not only the paintings of the master, but also his original posters from the beginning of his artistic path and a number of artefacts related to the master.
The exhibition will run until 7 March. Jacek Yerka has announced his presence on the day of the vernissage and on 17 February 2025 at 16.30 at an author meeting to celebrate the University Day. After the exhibition at Od Nova, a post-exhibition presentation of the painter's giclee (high-quality art prints) will still be on display in the main lobby on the ground floor of the University Library until 30 April 2025.
Andrzej Romański
The idea that it would be Jacek Yerka who would honour NCU's Jubilee Year celebrations with an exhibition of his art is no coincidence. The artist is a native of Toruń, he is also a graduate of the Faculty of Fine Arts at the NCU, and in 2016 he was awarded the honourable title of Ambassador of the NCU. He is an artist with an unfettered imagination and a distinctive style, recognisable all over the world. His works - often described as surrealist - are characterised by technical perfection and meticulous attention to detail, to which Yerka owes comparisons to masters such as Jan van Eyck and Hieronymus Bosch. They are characterised by multi-levels, unconventional solutions and saturation with oneiric symbols - although, as the artist himself declares, he draws ideas for his work from everyday life: - My inspirations do not change over the years - they are everyday life, the objects that surround me, sometimes the weather, some places that I observe for a moment when I pass by them by chance or drive by in my car,' says Jacek Yerka. - This is why I once said of myself that I am an impressionist.
Jacek Yerka, or to be precise Jacek Kowalski, was born in Toruń in 1952. He grew up in a family with artistic traditions, his parents having graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts at the NCU. His artistic inclinations manifested themselves already in childhood, mainly by drawing and sculpting, and his adventure with painting itself began before his university studies.
In 1976, he graduated from the graphic arts studio at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the NCU in Toruń. From 1974, he worked simultaneously on posters and painting. Between 1974-80, he won dozens of awards and distinctions at national and international poster competitions, including London, Baghdad, Barcelona, Milan, the Poster Biennale in Lahti and Warsaw. He began his professional career by designing posters in his second year at university. In Poland, he achieved his first success by winning a competition organised on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Polish Hunting Association. He also successfully participated in international competitions.
Since 1980, after a solo exhibition at the Grazyna Hase Gallery, he has devoted himself exclusively to painting, which has resulted in international fame. Jacek Yerka creates surreal landscapes full of fairy-tale and abstract elements, using acrylic paints and pastels. His style is described as fantasy realism. He draws inspiration from artists such as: Hieronymus Bosch, Jan van Eyck or Albrecht Dürer, but also childhood experiences, dreams and travels in the Polish countryside. His works can be seen in many Polish and international galleries. He has gained a considerable reputation internationally, including in the USA, which is perfectly illustrated by his long-term collaboration with Morpheus Gallery in Beverly Hills. This resulted in the publication of two works by him in 1994 - the album The Fantastic Art of Jacek Yerka, and the collection of works and short stories Mind Fields. The latter, in addition to his prints, contains science-fiction short stories written by Harlan Edison based on Yerka's paintings. His work was recognised in 1995 at the World Fantasy Convention and awarded the World Fantasy Award for Best Artist.
In 1998, he was offered the opportunity to work with Hollywood on the fantasy film Strawberry Fields, where he created sets and created monsters and machines. His works are in private collections all over the world. On 24 June 2008, the artist unveiled his 'Katarzynka' on the pavement gallery in front of the Artus Court in Toruń - this is the city's way of honouring prominent figures who were born, educated or started their careers in Toruń. In 2010, he created a poster for Toruń's 777th jubilee celebrations.
