Sarzyńska Małgorzata Iwona aka "Ruda"

Painter and Visual Artist

By education: chemical technician specialising in plant protection; by profession: visual artist .

Parents: Wiesława née Mielczarek and Henryk Sarzyński

Małgorzata’s mother, Wiesława Mielczarek (born February 19, 1933–died September 11, 2000), came from the vicinity of Częstochowa, from a poor peasant family. As a young woman, she fled from home due to her father’s strict upbringing methods and difficult financial situation, and settled in Jelenia Góra, on Solna Street. She worked in a kitchen at the military base on Sudecka Street, and in the following years, she switched to trading, which became her main profession and source of income. Małgorzata’s father did not participate in family life.

There is not much information about Wiesława Mielczarek’s family: it is known that she had contact with her sister, Małgorzata’s godmother, but apart from this, she probably did not maintain contact with the rest of her family. Little is known about Małgorzata’s father, too, as he abandoned his wife and daughter very early.

Małgorzata Sarzyńska grew up in a flat in a tenement at 38 Plac Ratuszowy. Raised by her mother, who was always busy working to provide for the family, she was rather a lonely child. As her daughter Olga says: “Grandma didn’t have much time for her. She traded on Flora (translator’s note: a local bazaar) or sold the goods around the city and abroad. Little Małgosia was often home alone; if she lost her keys, she would wait on the street or in a church.”

Małgorzata’s unhappy childhood had become a topic of a few of her paintings, such as Mother (pol. Matka; below). She also described that period in her diary, which she had kept from 1980 to 2003.

Sarzyńska received secondary education. She went to Primary School No. 2 in Jelenia Góra, and in 1982 she finished Vocational Technical High School for Chemistry in Jelenia Góra, where her class teacher was Jolanta Dorożyńska. One of her teachers, Lucyna Urzędowska, recalled that Małgorzata had partaken in theatrical performances at school (for instance, she played Jagna from Władysław Reymont’s novel Chłopi) and had a gift for acting. However, she preferred painting, to which she dedicated herself in 1979. Her works were soon shown to the public: in 1981, when she was still a student, her paintings appeared in a few exhibitions, such as The Fifth Provincial Review of Amateur Art, presented in the local BWA art gallery, and “Artists-Amateurs Present Themselves” (pol. “Plastycy Amatorzy prezentują”), which was held in Jelenia Góra’s Club of The PAX Society at 34 Słowackiego Street. Sarzyńska’s first one-woman show (presented with A. Piekarski) was also held there.

Małgorzata had her circle of friends, which included Bożena Królikowska, a friend from school, and Grzegorz, her future husband, who appeared in her life very early.

Just after finishing school, Małgorzata started working for RSW Prasa - Książka - Ruch (translator’s note: Polish publishing house that also owns a popular chain of kiosks) in Jelenia Góra as a senior clerk. After five months, she transferred to the Polish Automobile and Motorcycle Federation where she also was a senior clerk for a short period. In 1983, she started working as an artist for WPGT “Karkonosze” (Provincial Office for Tourism Economy), where she stayed for 3 years. After that, she worked for a few months at the Cultural Centre in Piechowice as an art instructor. Then, she became an independent clerk for editing the educational magazine Kurenda in the local In-Service Teacher Training Centre, where she spent almost one year. For more than a year since 1992, Sarzyńska was an art instructor at the Cultural Centre in Jelenia Góra, to which she returned for the years 1997-1999. According to some of her employers, working in institutions was for her more of a necessity than searching for her own professional identity, which she had already discovered in painting and artistic expression. She was seeking connections in the artistic community, as well as her own path and room for her artistic activity. She had plenty of friends among professional and amateur artists and people of culture; she also partook in plein-air painting events organised by the contemporary Provincial Culture Centre (1982-1987) and courses for art instructors concerning the methodology of working with children and young people (1986-1987).

Małgorzata was curious about the world and people. As Paweł Trybalski (translator’s note: a famous local painter) recalls, she came to his studio in Zabobrze (translator’s note: a district of Jelenia Góra) at the beginning of the 1980s, asking him to assess her paintings. Trybalski corrected her mistakes, gave her some paints, brushes, and pigments, and provided her with professional advice. She had been visiting his studio frequently, and it is known that she perceived him as her Master. He said about her: She didn’t pretend anything; she didn’t copy; she just did her bit. She was like a pure diamond. From the very beginning, I had seen a God-given gift in her. She created. She had a passion and compulsion, dedication for painting. She needed art to breathe. Sarzyńska quickly proceeded to exhibit her paintings in art galleries: in 1986, she showed her collection of portraits and still life on her one-woman-show in Salon “On the Entresol” (pol. “Na Antresoli”) that belonged to MPiK Club in Jelenia Góra (currently the BWA art gallery).

Barbara Orzechowska wrote in the exhibition catalogue: … Małgorzata’s art can be divided into two stages: the first one is metaphorical and verbally expressive; its characteristic features are small paintings, sparse colour gamut, and barely visible brushstrokes. The second one, however, is filled with works of clear texture, painted liberally, without refining the details: it provides material solutions to artistic problems. Małgorzata’s drawings, both the early ones, still innocent and expressive, and the subsequent studio drawings present similar attitude to technical matters. They clearly show that the artist has paid plenty of attention to self-development and mastering her technique. ^[1].

Subsequent exhibitions defined Sarzyńska as an artist. She expressed her main ideas in the introduction to the Straight From the Studio. The Painting (pol. Prosto z pracowni. Malarstwo exhibition catalogue in the “Corridor” Gallery in the Cultural Centre of the City of Jelenia Góra, 1992): I would like to show what I am down with in my painting. My present or past state: that’s when I paint. The colour, the shape, the naked bodies of women. A woman is a form of me; I am the woman. When I cannot run – she runs; when I cannot cry – she cries. Where I cannot be – she is. Happy, distraught, or experiencing her existence at its fullest. Someone once said that this is an escape from real life and an attempt to emancipate from topic, format, and technique. ^[2]

She also wrote a special letter to recipients of her art in which she explained her artistic beliefs:

Spirituality in Art and Chaos (pol. Duchowość w sztuce i chaos) is the title of an exhibition of her aquarelles, pastels, and drawings, which was held in the Gallery of the Bank of Silesia. In the exhibition catalogue, she wrote:

Another important series of her paintings was titled Street Encounters (pol. Uliczne Spotkania), which was surmounted with an exhibition in BWA art Gallery and the Gallery of the Agency of the Municipal Development in Lubań (1998).

This peculiar streetscape painted in a drawing manner, or rather drawn with paint, captures the ambience of the artist’s childhood years, her everyday insights into city life, and the people she encountered strolling around the city. There is not much of joy in these paintings; there is a clear sense of nostalgia and solitude, which is emphasized by the restrained colour gamut. What is interesting, Sarzyńska put herself among the portrayed figures. In the exhibition catalogue, Beata Skibińska wrote: Streets like familiar domestic interiors. Alleyways full of promise. Buildings like furniture, furniture like a part of urban architecture. Naked people passing by or just sitting casually, strange to themselves and to each other. Even though they are similar to one another, they are isolated and solitary, sleepy and idle. Their ethereal nudity contrasts the angularity of houses and the coolness of the puddles. They seem to be accustomed to everydayness... they succumb to it in vulnerability. ^[4]

The topic of a woman and femineity was the most important in her painting. It is a topic that was inspired by herself, by her own life: she put her own stories, internal doubts, personal tragedies, and emotions accompanying all these situations onto the canvas. These paintings were the subject of the exhibition titled A Woman. Frau (pol. Kobieta. Frau; 1999). Encouraged by a local oncologist and Dorota Czudowska, a Polish Senator, Sarzyńska presented the paintings to women suffering from cancer to give them strength and remind them about the uniqueness of each one of them. The initiators of the project said: Healing of both body and soul is probably a dream of every physician, so we wanted to treat our patients with Sarzyńska’s peculiarly vivid and symbolic paintings, which are a strong reminder of the beauty and value of women, even the ones disfigured by exaggeration and overdrawing. Nude women in the most daring poses, portrayed in some of the paintings, demand love and warmth, and they have a right to demand them. ^[5] The artist also shared her reflection on the project. After it was brought to Legnica, she said: Every day, several dozens of women fearful of losing their value and in need of huge energetic support come to this exhibition. My works put into such reality gain a new meaning and deeper sense as I’m telling the story of a fight for beauty, love, and the meaning of life in my paintings. ^[6]

The artist wanted to give strength to women and support them in times of solitude; she wanted to spark hope, faith, and courage in them. Courage was undoubtedly one of Sarzyńska’s virtues. Taking risks: artistic, professional, and financial, was a vital part of her whole life. One of such risky actions was launching a project called Ruda at a Graveyard, Ruda on a Balcony (pol. Ruda na cmentarzu, Ruda na balkonie), which featured nude photographs of Sarzyńska taken by Martin Hill.

She presented these photographs in her own art gallery, Atelier - Sarzyńska, in June of 1999.

Photo 13-14. A private viewing in Atelier Sarzyńska Gallery

Opening of her private gallery in her flat on Plac Ratuszowy, which took place on July 10, 1998, was also an act of courage: she had neither appropriate financial background nor management and organisational skills. She wanted to be independent of merchants and art galleries and decided to manage her career by herself, possibly encouraged by the success that she achieved abroad. Presenting her paintings in foreign lands was made possible with the help of Alfred Grügl, an Austrian settled in Michałowice near Jelenia Góra, a merchant and a dedicated pastelist. Several times, Małgorzata went to Germany, Austria, and Italy where she was exhibiting her works and painting custom portraits in order to improve the financial situation of her family. Alfred also assisted her in buying a house in Komarno, which served both as a studio and a living space. Later, when she moved back to the flat on Plac Ratuszowy, at the time when the Gallery – Atelier Sarzyńska was already open, the artist met Martin Hill, a photographer, collector, and owner of a vineyard who was mesmerized by her art and wanted to show it to the world. He supported Małgorzata and had become her patron and friend. He wrote one of the most profound texts about her art:

It was Hill who presented her to Bremervörde and popularised her art in the city: her works appeared in public space, for instance, on the walls of residential buildings in Germany.

Exhibitions presenting Sarzyńska’s art abroad took place in Vilnius, Erfstadt, Jerusalem, and Lublana. She also participated in the international competition Earth, Air, and Water in Olbersdorf, where she received several prizes: the Second Prize in 2001 and the First Prize in 2002 and 2003. She also partook in the International Plein Air of Graphic Arts at the Güstrow exhibition in Berlin.

Małgorzata was searching for ideas on how to bring artistic briskness to the Jelenia Góra town square and on how to establish direct contact with her admirers. An idea combining these two factors was the First International Art Fair “Artists in the Arcades” (pol. “Artyści pod Arkadami”), which took place on July 28, 1999. Many excellent guests: artists and people of culture from Jelenia Góra, Dresden, Görlitz, Liberec, and Worcław, participated in the event.
The social context of Sarzyńska’s activity was present in many of her undertakings: she wanted to share the effects of her work and her strong energy, which, according to her, lies in the colour and the line, with other people. She decorated the walls of the children’s ward and three rooms in the local hospital with fairy-tale creatures, animals, trees, and flowers within the artistic project Dyzio the Dreamer (pol. Dyzio Marzyciel). The predominant topic of these paintings was home and family. Sarzyńska said: “I'm painting colourful scenes because colours bring joy, strength, and, I think, health to the little patients.” She worked with young people, for instance, in the art studio at the local Culture Centre. She also participated in the International Artistic Workshops in Borowice and Waldenburg as an artist-instructor.

Sarzyńska had been a member of the artistic group called “eR” (1986-1992), the leader of which was Patryk Lewkowicz, almost since it was formed.

The group functioned in association with the Social and Cultural Association of Jelenia Góra and gathered ambitious local painters, such as Ryszard Tyszkiewicz, Tadeusz Dzieżyc, Władysław Gałczyński, and Anna Grabowska. Sarzyńska had a wide circle of friends, many of whom came from within the artistic community. Because of her interest in literature, the artist actively cooperated with the Social and Cultural Association of Jelenia Góra (pol. Jeleniogórskie Towarzystwo Społeczno-Kulturalne), especially with Elżbieta Kotlarska. Among her close friends, most of whom she had met during the artistic plein airs, were Maria Szubart, Patryk Lewkowicz, Jan Krygier, Dorota Dyl, Marek Lercher, Władysław Gałczyński, Tadeusz Dzieżyc, and Wojciech Zawadzki. The friend who was especially dear to her was Kazimierz Rypiński, who had always stood by her side. Małgorzata’s daughter recalls that he would buy her paintings when the family was in need of money.
Małgorzata Sarzyńska started a family in 1983 when she married Grzegorz Miksa.

Grzegorz, who was then a militia officer, came from an orderly and structured family. This was what Małgorzata needed: since childhood, she had been struggling with the lack of true family life. She had neither fixed rules of behaviour nor a sense of safety. Her mother was suffering from a mental disorder and required help before Małgorzata reached adulthood. The couple lived with her in the tiny flat on Plac Ratuszowy. Their first child, Olga, was born in November of 1984. Małogorzata and Grzegorz’s relationship was very tumultuous, immature, and filled with jealousy and mutual misunderstanding concerning different outlooks on life and Małgorzata’s artistic needs: all these factors contributed to a divorce in 1987. However, it was not a definite end of the relationship: the couple reunited and split up a few times. When Olga was four years old, Sarzyńska bought house no. 33 in Komarno with the help of Alfred Grügl. It was a beautiful, large house with an enormous workroom and a garden. The artist lived there with her daughter and Grzegorz, who reunited with the family. However, the maintenance of the property generated too much cost and caused them to return to Plac Ratuszowy seven years later. For a short time, the family lived on Transportowa Street. They renovated the Plac Ratuszowy apartment with the money from selling the house in Komarno and bought a lorry, which enabled Grzegorz to start a private transport company. Soon, they returned again to Plac Ratuszowy to look after Małgorzata’s mother who required constant care after she had a stroke.

The couple’s second child, Adam, was born in 1993. This was a time of another serious crisis in their marriage, which resulted in parting ways again. Małgorzata kept the house and raised children by herself; at the same time, she was still dedicated to painting. Olga recalls this period as the best in her mother’s life, a time of hard work, relative stabilisation, and new ideas. This good period was terminated with the death of Sarzyńska’s mother in 2000, which was a very painful experience for the artist and, possibly, a trigger for her latent disease. Moments of euphoria, mixed with periods of severe depression, were becoming increasingly alarming to her family and friends, and contributed to the difficult family situation. Olga was preparing for her final exams outside the house and began her studies at the Academy of Theatre Arts in Warsaw, whilst Adam stayed with their mother who was gradually losing contact with reality. Thanks to the help of her ex-husband and friends she started psychiatric treatment in Bolesławiec in 2003, during which she continued painting. After therapy had ended, she returned to Plac Ratuszowy; however, it was not an appropriate place for recovery. Therefore, Grzegorz helped her sell the flat and the art gallery, and they settled together in Komarno, in a house that they bought from his family.

As Grzegorz Sarzyński said: “It was the best time of our marriage: Małgosia was a wife, a mother, and an artist.” Małgorzata was dedicated to painting until September 28, 2005, which was the day of her presaged death. She passed away in her house, in the presence of her family. Her last painting, Here and on the Other Side (pol. Po tej i po tamtej stronie), was an omen of the upcoming tragedy.

Her paintings are still in the house: they accompany Adam, a graduate of psychology major in one of the high schools in Jelenia Góra, Grzegorz, and his brother Jacek. Olga Sarzyńska graduated from the Academy of Theatre Arts in Warsaw; now she is an experienced film and theatrical actress with great career prospects.

Małgorzata Sarzyńska is remembered by her family and friends. Her husband says:

Her daughter Olga collects and archives everything connected to her mother’s artistic activity. She says:

Małgorzata was perceived by the amicable people as a strong person, overcoming adversities, fighting for herself and her art; egocentric, and demanding recognition of her visions and her needs. Maria Szubart wrote about her: She was a mother to her mother and a child to her own children. Her life was an ongoing search for love, tenderness, and truth, as the lives of every one of us. But in Małgosia’s case, this search was painful. Sometimes it was rapacious, hasty, even brutal, and sometimes it was like a solitary prayer of supplication. Małgosia was a painter, and she was very serious about her art. She was never doubtful about it. She even tended to be quite immodest in showing the world that she was an artist. She was constantly conducting a vivisection of her being; she always observed herself carefully, asking herself: ‘Who am I?’... delicate, oversensitive, fragile, and, at the same time, uncompromising, strict, and firm. Helpless and extremely expressive. Egocentrically self-absorbed, and, at the same time, fond of social activism and outgoing to people. Innocent like a child, and at the same time capable of making the impossible possible. ^[8]

Elżbieta Kotlarska, remembering Małgorzata, says: She treated painting as a mission. She wanted to be loved and to get her life right in order to be able to create. On the other hand, the adversities she was facing somehow nourished her art. She and her husband were not able to live with each other. She wanted to seek challenges and inspiration, while he preferred worldliness and routine. He disagreed with her constatations. He had become her rock at the end of her life. Małgosia was hungry for life, just as these women of hers: flamboyant, torn, full of pain, angelic, etc. She was also a very spiritual person. By the end of her life, she had ultimately reconciled with her husband (she would say that they were meant for each other) and accepted the fact that fate cannot be escaped. She was summing up her life and talking as if she was sensing her upcoming departure.

Wojciech Zawadzki, on behalf of her friends and the whole artistic community, wrote in Nowiny Jeleniogórskie: She was a crazy artist, crazy in the most positive sense. She was crazy about painting and creating. Her impressive vitality and positive energy were focused not only on her own achievements but also on the need of integrating people who were close to her heart both artistically and as human beings. She had as much humility for her masters as much bellicosity she had towards her artistic path. Because that is what she was like: bellicose and kind at the same time. Ever since I’ve known her, her whole life was filled with action... She would paint on everything: canvas, planks, fibreboard, or paper. She also would draw everywhere she went to. She would always carry a sketchbook and a pencil with her. She had a strong sense of liberty and a strong desire for freedom. She had no limits. ^[9]

These words capture Sarzyńska’s personality very accurately. Her short, tumultuous life has been preserved in her paintings, most of which are solely about herself, in the memory of her friends and acquaintances, and in hearts of her loved ones.

Małgorzata Sarzyńska was buried on the graveyard in Maciejowa, a district of Jelenia Góra.

In order to commemorate the third anniversary of her demise, her friends organised an exhibition of her paintings titled SHE (pol. ONA). It was organised in the Philharmonic of Lower Silesia, in cooperation with the Social and Cultural Association of Jelenia Góra and the Association of the Municipalities of Karkonosze Region.

Complete list of exhibitions and artistic plein airs

One-woman-shows:
1981 – Painting; PAX Society Club of Jelenia Góra
1983 – Painting; Gallery of Club of Amateur Artists in Museum of Military Settlement (pol. Muzeum Osadnictwa Wojskowego) in Lubań Śląski
1986 – Painting; Salon “Na Antresoli” in Jelenia Góra MPiK Club
1992 – Painting and Drawing – Straight from the Studio; the “Korytarz” Gallery in Culture Centre in Jelenia Góra
1992 – Painting and Drawing; Straight from the Studio in Regional Cultural Centre in Wleń (MGOK Wleń)
1994 – Painting and Drawing; Culture Centre of the City of Jelenia Góra
1997 – Portrait – Painting and Drawing; “Klatka” Gallery in Lwówek Śląski
1997 – Painting; Gallery of the Agency of the Muncipial Development in Lubań
1998 – Painting from the Street Encounters series; BWA Gallery in Jelenia Góra
1998 - Painting from the Street Encounters; Gallery of the Agency of the Muncipial Development in Lubań
1998 – Trouvaille Kannan Bremervörde
1998 – opening of the private gallery Atelier - Sarzyńska
1999 – Painting: Woman. Frau; Cancer Diagnostic Centre in Legnica
1999 - Painting: Woman. Frau; Kulturhause Lechenich Erfstadt, “Am Park” Gallery in Bremervörde
1999 - Painting; Gallery (Ggorgio Ratai) in Vilnius, Lithuania
2000 - Emotions – Aquarelle, La Petite Litvanie (Strassburg, France), Auto Portrait – Painting
2003 – Musical Variations; Philharmonic of Lower Silesia in Jelenia Góra

Group exhibitions:
1981 - Artists-Amateurs Present Themselves (pol. Artyści-Amatorzy prezentują); PAX Society Club of Jelenia Góra
Since 1981 - Fifth Provincial Review of Amateur Art in Jelenia Góra
1982 - Post-plein Air Exhibition of Miners’ Culture Centre in Zgorzelec
1983 – Competition: Jelenia Góra Region through the Eyes of Artists (pol. Ziemia Jeleniogórska w sztuce)
1985 - Provincial Review of Amateur Art in Zgorzelec
1991 - Post-plein Air Exhibition of the “eR” Artistic Group in Social and Cultural Association of Jelenia Góra; Estate Culture Centre in Jelenia Góra
1992 – exhibition of the “eR” Artistic Group; Culture Centre of the City of Zgorzelec
1992 – exhibition of Graphic Arts of International Plein Air of Graphic Arts; Güstrow, Berlin
1993 - Exhibition of the “eR” Artistic Group in Social and Cultural Association of Jelenia Góra; Estate Culture Centre in Jelenia Góra
2000 – International Art Festival 8 Artists From a Painting to a Tree; Am Park Gallery in Bremervörde
2000 – The Last Supper, Landscapes from Jerusalem – Painting; Slovenia
2001 – international competition Earth, Air, Water in Olbersdorf; Second Prize
2002 – international competition Earth, Air, Water in Olbersdorf; First Prize
2003 – international competition Earth, Air, Water in Olbersdorf; First Prize
2003 – exhibition “eR” Artistic Group and Friends: 45 years of Social and Cultural Association of Jelenia Góra; Philharmonic of Lower Silesia in Jelenia Góra

Plein-airs:
1982 – Artistic Plein Air in Szklarska Poręba
1982 – Artistic Plein Air in Turów - Turów ’82
1983 – Artistic Plein Air in Lwówek Śląski - Lwówek ‘83
1985 – Artistic Plein Air in Szklarska Poręba - Szklarska Poręba ‘85
1985 – Artistic Plein Air in Wojków - Wojków ‘85
1986 – Artistic Plein Air in Karpacz
1987 – Artistic Plein Air in Bukowiec
1989 – Artistic Plein Air of the “eR” Artistic Group in Janowice Wielkie
1990 – Artistic Plein Air of the “eR” Artistic Group in Janowice Wielkie
1992 – International Plein Air of Young Artists
1992 – International Plein Air of Graphic Artists at the Güstrow Exhibition in Berlin