Rafal Labijak
Rafał Labijak (b. 1968) – Polish painter based in Poznań. His work spans figurative and abstract painting, exploring communication, post-industrial landscapes, virtualized reality and social relations in the smartphone era.
Rafał Labijak – contemporary painter
Rafał Labijak (b. 1968) lives and works in Poznań, and has been active in Berlin and Ostrava. His painting merges religion, science and contemporary social change. The artist explores postmodern communication, industrial landscapes, mediated reality, attention deficit, and social relations of the digital age.
Biography and education
- Graduate of Painting, University of the Arts Poznań, studio of Prof. Wojciech Gorączniak
- Studies at Poznań University of Technology (1987–1992)
- Auditor, studio of Prof. Józef Walczak, Poznań Academy of Fine Arts (2004–2005)
- Participant in Signum Foundation workshops led by Prof. Janusz Marciniak (2014)
- Artist residency at Vitkovice post-industrial complex, Ostrava (2015–2016)
Critical reception
- Janusz Marciniak: “Painting is for him a way of contemplation, self-knowledge and visualization of inner life.”
- Ewelina Jarosz: “His works respond to the smartphone revolution, shifting attention back from the screen to the canvas.”
- Wojciech Gorączniak: “Labijak’s paintings use surreal dream-like poetics, reconstructing emotions to resonate with viewers.”
Selected solo exhibitions
- 2013 – Ignacy Kraszewski Museum, Poznań
- 2016 – Dolni Oblast Vitkovice, Ostrava
- 2020 – State Gallery of Art, Sopot, “Smart Canvas”
- 2021 – MO Gallery, Poznań
- 2021 – Museum of Writing and Printing, Grębocin
- 2023 – Contemporary Art Gallery, Lubrański Academy, Poznań
Selected group exhibitions
- 2016 – Collegium Phisicum UAM, Gallery of a Single Painting
- 2018 – Refektarz Gallery, Krotoszyn
- 2022 – Elektrownia Gallery, Czeladź
- 2022 – Exhibizone/Biafarin, “Happines”, Canada
- 2023 – Exhibizone/Biafarin, “Anti-WAR”, Canada
- 2023 – DESA Unicum, “Art Today – Curator’s Choice”, Warsaw
- 2024 – on*arte x Boutique Office, Poznań
- 2024 – Gong Gallery, Ostrava, “Polish Abstraction and the World”