AWARD _FLORENCE BIENNALE 2015

Marius was born in 1956 and began his career as a painter very early, immediately after completing four years of study at l'Ecole des Beaux Arts in Warsaw, Poland. His pictorial technique already revealed a remarkable eclecticism of styles. He is one of the rare kinds of artist in that from the beginning he was able to make a living from his paintings, unlike many others who become successful enough to do this only much later on in their careers. A French art dealer who was on a visit to Warsaw recognized his talent and invited him to go to Paris. The call of this artistic Mecca proved irresistible for the young artist, and though already commercially successful, he risked everything and moved to Paris in 1980. The art dealer organized several personal exhibitions for him. Marius was very satisfied with the encouraging result of his debut before the Parisian public but at the same time he nourished his secret passion, painting in the Cubist style, which he carried out for his personal pleasure without thinking of selling the output. He understood intuitively that Cubism was one of few areas of painting that had not yet been exploited in its entirety and within which there remained much to be discovered and created. A chance meeting with the dealer and art expert Robert Crouzet during an exhibition opening led to an exchange that revealed common points of view on art in general and Cubist painting in particular. Marius showed him photographs of his paintings and drawings in the purest primitive Cubist style. They decided that together they would stage the first exhibition of his Cubists paintings, which took place in December 1981. Contemporary Cubist paintings that one sees displayed in galleries are generally pastiches inspired by the great masters of the genre and of only minor interest, even if pleasing to the eye. The situation is quite different for the works of Marius, which reveal an individual personality that cannot be compared to those of any other artist. He himself has become a reference in the genre. The existence of a large number of connoisseurs and knowledgeable amateurs who appreciate and collect his work is proof that MARIUS will emerge as a recognized master in the future. Marius resides in Belgium.