Roman Modzelewski

Roman Modzelewski (1912 - 1997) was a painter, designer, sculptor, teacher. An avant-garde creator, and an interdisciplinary artist.

He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw and continued his career at the Łodz Academy of Fine Arts since its establishment in 1945. Initially, he was influenced by impressionism, then experimenting with form and color, he moved towards “solarism”, and cubism later on. The language of abstraction, geometry of form, the symbolism of color and the significance of texture were essential in his artwork.

His first furniture designs were presented at the Second All-Poland Exhibition of Interior Design, Warsaw, in 1957 and received the second prize in the category of furniture for their innovative form and the application of modern materials. After making the most of plywood’s flexibility, Roman Modzelewski started to work with plastics. Completed in 1958, the armchair made of fiberglass was a pioneering application of this material in Poland. From the formal side, it is a unique example on a worldwide scale of the fully-formed, homogeneous organic crust of the seat. Interest on the part of Le Corbusier in the production of the model in France resulted in its patent in 1961, but its production never materialized.

In following years Modzelewski used laminate and its possibilities building yachts. In 1966, the construction of the first Polish plastic yacht, with its silhouette designed by the English constructor, Robert Tucker, began. Having the constructor’s permission, Modzelewski converted and manufactured it in new material (originally, it was made of wood). In the mid-70s, the Polish designer created his own yacht – the famous Amulet, a legend of the Polish Mazurian region. The following decade brought about the design of a marine yacht: the Talisman. His passion for sailing had a profound influence on the designing activities of Modzelewski, and in turn, many of his countrymen could also devote themselves to the passion of sailing.

Roman Modzelewski’s paintings and designs can be found in many museums and private collections, including the Museum of Art in Lodz, the National Museum in Warsaw, Victoria & Albert Museum in London.