Stefan Gierowski was born in Częstochowa in 1925. The artist-to-be was born into a nurturing family of artistically leaning intellectuals, from his father Józef’s love of painting to his uncle Antoni’s career as a 19th-century draughtsperson. Despite an early predisposition to art, the outbreak of the Second World War prevented Gierowski from immediately exploring his talents. Following in his mother Stefania’s footsteps, the young Gierowski joined the Union of Armed Struggle and later the Home Army – taking part in underground activities under the moniker ‘Hubert’. Within these underground circles he underwent his first artistic training in 1941, aged 16, under Andrzej Oleś. This first experience was cut short by the artist’s transfer to the Częstochowa Inspectorate, and was followed by several courses under various Polish artists.
After the Home Army’s dissolution, Gierowski enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow (1945-1948) and at the Faculty of Art History of the Jagiellonian University. These complementary courses broadened Gierowski’s perspectives and opened him to all aspects of modernity. His cumulative experiences also brought him closer to Poland’s new, young artistic generation, including the likes of Jerzy Panek, Zbigniew Grzybowski, Stanisław Wójcik and Andrzej Wróblewski. This network extends to collaborations with cultural institutions and actors, such as the socio-literary weekly Wieś, of which Gierowski would become technical editor in 1949. This period also saw the artist illustrate books for his friends and present his early work in exhibitions, building his reputation step by step.
Gierowski’s real emergence onto the art scene came in 1955 in the form of his participation in the Against War – Against Fascism National Exhibition of Young Art, held at Warsaw’s Arsenal, a show that shone the spotlight on an entire Polish generation opposing the aesthetic hegemony of socialist realism. The artists alongside whom Gierowski exhibited his work would all become lifelong friends.
1957 marked a turning point for Gierowski. The visibility provided by the Young Art show paved the way for his first collaboration with the Krzywe Koło Gallery and the beginning of an important partnership. Gierowski was also elected secretary of the General Assembly of District Delegates of the Association of Polish Artists and Designers. Artistically speaking, the year marked the beginning of Gierowski’s Paintings series, each work bearing a Roman numeral, a series that has become a staple of the artist’s body of work. Inspired by a few movements of the era, these works nevertheless subscribe to the rules of none. Rather, they focus on the fundamentals of painting: light, colour and texture.
In 1962, Gierowski took on the role of teacher at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, where between 1975 and 1981, he worked as Dean of the Faculty of Painting. In 1965, he opened a private teaching studio. His method of pedagogy is one of friendliness and openness. This humble initiative saw over one hundred graduates over a span of ten years, including notable names in Polish contemporary art: Marian Czapla, Krzysztof Wachowiak, Jarosław Modzelewski and Marek Sobczyk (both members of Gruppa), Ryszard Woźniak, Włodzimierz Pawlak, Tomasz Milanowski, Antoni Starowieyski and Jerzy Kalina.
Gierowski represented Poland at the 1st Paris Youth Biennale (1959), the 5th International Biennale of Contemporary Art in São Paulo (1959) and 15 Polish Painters at the Museum of Modern Art in New York (1961). His contributions to art and culture were acknowledged through several prizes: the Jan Cybis Award (1980); the Commander’s Cross with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta (1997); the Kazimierz Ostrowski Award (2005); and the Gold Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis (2005).
