Zdzislaw Beksinski Murdered

[Dr. Bantham]

Truly horrible news...

Quote

Warsaw authorities charged a 19-year-old man Friday with the murder of surrealist painter Zdzislaw Beksinski. The suspect, identified only as Robert K., is the son of longtime Beksinski friend and aide Krzysztof K., police said. The two and their 16-year-old relative were all picked up for questioning Wednesday. The 19-year-old confessed to the Monday night killing while in custody, said prosecutor Zbigniew Zelaznicki. Beksinski, was considered one of Poland's leading contemporary artists. He emerged on the Polish art scene in the 1950s and was best known for his abstract renditions of skeletons, monster-like creatures and other apocalyptic images evoking death and decay. The 75-year-old was found stabbed to death at his Warsaw home Monday night. There were no signs of forced entry or robbery. A motive was still not clear, though it appeared as if the 19-year-old had tried to borrow money from Beksinski, Zelaznicki said. The weapon used, which has been recovered by police, was a small knife, he said. Krzysztof K., who ran errands for the painter, has been released but police are still investigating the 16-year-old, Zelaznicki said.

I am greatly saddened at the loss of one of my favorite artists. You can browse some of his work within the Album section of this site. I learned of his death yesterday while searching the internet for more of his fantastic imagery. As with the recent loss of Jhon Balance, this world is without yet another wonder to stand as justification to it's very existence.

So what ya gonna do when the novelty has gone?
(Ian Curtis)

[The Silent One]

Excellently twisted stuff. (My avatar's one example.) So gruesome, so sorrowful. Goodbye, Zdzadislaw...

[unknown]

why do I always find the amazing artists once they have left this planet?



he will be missed

[qcrisp]

Very sad. I, too, have only just discovered the man's talent.

[bendk]

The murder of Beksinski is shocking news. I have admired his work for years. I bought an art book of his in the early 90s that was published in France. Morpheus published some of his work for the book "The Fantastic Art of Beksinski" in 1998. He has also had a few impressive web sites dedicated to him. It is nice to see his work can be appreciated on this site as well.

Born in Poland in 1929, Beksinski grew up during some of the worst atrocities known to man, and his work is unquestionably influenced by apocalyptic visions of death and holocaust. Decimated landscapes, inhabited by either amorphous, clay-like beings waiting to be reabsorbed into the earth, or fragile, paper-skinned, insubstantial things expecting to be blown away. These latter images remind me of passages from 'The Regions of the Great Heresy' section of Bruno Schulz, another famous Polish artist - also murdered. Beksinski's work often conveys a sense of despair or a mixture of helplessness and confused wonder. Truly haunting images.

[yellowish haze]

Hi everybody, I'm new on this forum.
It may seem weird for all of you but I live in Warsaw, Poland only a couple of blocks away from where Beksinski has been murdered. For me this is also a great loss, because I perceive him as a very talented person. I also noticed that Ligotti and Beksinski had something in common. It's a shame they never had the possibility to meet.

[Karnos]

It shocked me when I found out Beksinski had been murdered. I have been an admirer of his art since 2000; he's up there with other talents I admire, such as Giger, Peter-Jöel Witkin and Francis Bacon (The painter, not the philosopher)

Truly shocking way to die; poor man, he had a very difficult life. His wife died of cancer, I think, and his son killed himself after a period of depression. I guess some people have it worse than others...

Here's his official website.