Jacek Yerka was born in Toruń, Poland, in 1952, where he later studied fine arts and graphic design. He was pressed by his university teachers to avoid realism and details in painting as they tried to guide him after the trends of the period. In spite of all that pressure, the artist preferred the classic style of the Flemish painting which influenced his works and can be felt while viewing them. The themes found in his works range from some strange beasts to wonderful landscapes with bizarre architecture, and include images stolen from his childhood, like the kitchen at his grandmother’s house.
Yerka says about the times of his childhood: “For me, the 1950s were a kind of Golden Age … If I were, for instance, to paint a computer, it would definitely have a pre-war aesthetic to it.” His work usually is done in a few steps that include the graphite sketch, followed by the drawing in crayon, then pastel and finally an acrylic painting…
