Leszek Kostuj

Leśny ratuje Księżyc V

Machina mistyczna

Leszek Kostuj is a Polish artist that graduated from Pedagogy and Art Department at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. He works in painting, drawing, and traditional and computer graphics. Most of his artwork is done in either acrylic or oil painting. 

Kostuj started off painting smaller more realistic drawings. He quickly moved on sureal images that border on abstraction. He states, “My art is in constant change, I am in search of the forms of artistic communication that would be optimal for me. When I begin to paint, it is quite frequent that I do not ponder over the final effect. Only when on the surface of the painting, the emerging patches, lines, colours begin to coalesce, the imagination rouses and provides an impulse to further artistic release. At this stage of creation, what begins to appear is ideas, visions, and concepts – all in order to create a work that is a fulfillment of my artistic and aesthetic needs.”

The first thing that grabs my attention about Kostuj’s art is the vivd colors he uses. They put the viewer in the right mood to explore the painting. For example in the top painting the blues make it look like a dreamy night, so it makes it all right to explore the image, even though the top bird like creature may be sitting on a pile of skulls. The dreaminess of it leads the viewer to believe that this world id not real and they make wake up if they discover anything truly terrible. The colors of the bottom image lends a cohesiveness to the piece that makes viewing a pleasing experience. That can make the viewer notice more subtle things like the hidden face or symmetry of the piece.  

Paintings by Kostuj have a magical, storybook feel. They look like they should be in a book bringing children to another world in pictures. Like most surreal images I want to know more. It is what draws me to surreal artwork. The mysterious quality to the art. Never quite ever understanding the image completely. There may be a hidden meaning somewhere that you just aren’t getting. It is a creative and imaginative area of the visual arts that being a little different okay. I like that.