Windows onto intimate moments, Igor Mortiz’s colourful paintings depict commonplace scenes. Central figures slouch in chairs, scroll through information on their mobile phones, read or gaze into space, while the viewer is cast as voyeur. Energetic brushstrokes in vibrant tones are combined with morphed perspective and proportion, adding emotional weight to these snapshots of the everyday.
Born in Lublin, Poland, in 1996, Moritz grew up in London before moving back to his home city to study at the Norwid Secondary School of Fine Arts. He went on to graduate in Industrial Design at Bournemouth University (UK) and has completed art residencies in Greece, Japan and France. Daring colour combinations, striking facial expressions and a fluid approach to shape underlie Moritz’s work, which also displays innovation in terms of technique. He soaks paper in linseed oil, for example, to achieve an opaque, vibrant finish when working with coloured pencils rather than oils on canvas.
Igor Moritz was selected to show at the Beers London 75 Works on Paper exhibition in 2017 and has since participated in group shows in Australia, USA and Spain, among others. He has hosted solo presentations in Lublin (Poland), Montreal (Canada) and Paris (France).
