Lubomir Tomaszewki, the father of Polish design, passed away in the United States of America.

The greatest Polish contemporary sculptor died.

He was known as ‘motion painter and sculptor’. In Poland, before he emigrated in 1966, he was recognized as a creator of modern design. During his time at IWP (Institute of Industrial Design in Warsaw) he designed porcelain figurines which adorned many Polish apartements since the 60’s. The most popular were ‘Girl in Flares’, ‘Arab Girl’, ‘Girl with Mirror’, ‘Camel’, ‘Kiwi’.

He was born on the 9 of June 1923 in Warsaw. His parents were Lubomir Tomaszewski, inventor and airplane constructor and Lucyna née Bartłomiejczyk. His uncle, Edmund Bartłomiejczyk was a renowned engraver and professor of Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. Tomaszewski graduated from the sculpture department of the same Academy in 1955.

He won the contest for his design of surroundings of the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw, but his project was never realized materialised. In 1962 he designed two porcelain sets: ‘Ina’ and ‘Dorota’. His cups and pots without handles won the first prize at International Exhibition of Industrial Forms in Paris and are currently presented in Victoria and Albert Museum in London. 

In 1966 Tomaszewski emigrated to the United States of America, where he became a well-known proffesors of industrial design at prestigious Bridgeport University. He started living near New York City and making his dream of creating full-scale sculptures. He created bronze, rock and wooden figures of dancers, musicians, animals and fantastic beasts, all of them full of movement and dynamism. Tomaszewski’s sculptures are part of collections owned by the Rockefeller Family and White House. Many of his works are inspired by Greek mythology and artist’s traumatic experience of Warsaw Uprising, where he fought as a commander of an anti-tank unit. His brother, Jerzy, talented violin player who was predicted to be as famous as Artur Rubinstein in the future, died in his arms at a last day of the uprising. Tomaszewski’s sculptures are part of collections owned by the Rockefeller Family and White House. 

Warsaw Uprising, dance, music and Greek mythology are also the main theme of Tomaszewski’s paintings, which he created using oxy-acetylene torch. His unique fire and smoke technique is what made him famous.

Tomaszewski established an international art movement called Emotionalism, which gathered creators from many different countries. His works travelled all over the world to be presented at over 150 exhibitions – recently in European Parliament, Rockefeller Park Art Gallery in New York and Van Rij Gallery in Ćmielów, Poland, a place with one of the biggest collections of artist’s works. 

Lubomir Tomaszewski created in tune with nature. He was able to extract confined dynamism from rocks, wood, metal and glass. He painted the dance with just a few lines like no one else could. He passed away at the age of 95.