Juliusz Joniak. Paintings

Juliusz Joniak was born in 1925 in Lwów. During the occupation, in the years 1941–1945, he completed the School of Artistic Industry in his hometown. After the war, as a repatriated student, he graduated from two faculties at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków: Painting under Prof. Czesław Rzepiński, who offered him an assistantship, and Artistic Graphics under Professors Andrzej Jurkiewicz and Konrad Srzednicki. At the Academy of Fine Arts, he advanced through all stages of the academic career, culminating in a full professorship. He served as Dean of the Faculty of Painting (1978–1981) and Vice-Rector of the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków (1981–1984).
His artistic activity included participation in numerous group and solo exhibitions in Poland and abroad, among others in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th National Art Exhibitions, the Arsenal Exhibition, and Junge Generation in Berlin and Leipzig. Contemporary painting: Sofia, Prague, Kyiv, Bratislava, Dresden, Nancy, Vallauris, Art Biennale – Mérignac, Biennale “Sport in Art” – Madrid, Barcelona, “Academy of Fine Arts Teachers” – Athens, Thessaloniki,” Ateliereinblick” – Kunsthalle, Nuremberg. Solo exhibitions in Poland and abroad: Bergen, Leipzig, Prague, Mainz, Aschaffenburg, Wiesbaden.
In 1995 he received the highest award at the 7th Festival of Arts in Magné, France, in which more than 160 painters from all continents participated, after which he became an Honorary Member of the Académie Européene des Arts in Paris. He was the laureate of numerous awards and distinctions, Vice-President of the Society of Friends of Fine Arts in Kraków in 2001 2021, and a member of the Association of Polish Artists and Designers.
Juliusz Joniak held numerous important functions in the authorities of the Kraków District of the Association of Polish Artists and Designers (ZPAP) and in its Main Board: he served two terms as Vice-President of the Kraków District of ZPAP, and was active in various committees and the Painting Section of the Main Board of ZPAP.
For his efforts in saving the Society of Friends of Fine Arts (TPSP) and participating in its revival, the President of the Republic of Poland awarded Professor Juliusz Joniak the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta in 2004.
The artist’s works are found in many museums and private collections both in Poland and abroad, among others in the National Museum in Kraków and Warsaw, as well as in museums in Zielona Góra, Szczecin, and Bydgoszcz, and also in Australia, Denmark, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Italy, and Germany.