Krzysztof Tomalski
Born in 1963 in Got-lice, In the years 1978 - 1983 learns in the Antoni Kenar State School of Visual Arts in Zakopane. in 1983 takes up studies at the Faculty of Graphic Arts of the Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow. He realises his diploma in the Copperplate Studio under the supervision of prof. Stanislaw Wejman and defends it with distinction in 1989. Since his diploma, he has been continuously collaborating with the Copperplate Studio in the Department of Printmaking, where he obtained successive academic degrees. In 2008 he is elected dean of the Faculty of Graphic Arts and in 2012 is re-elected. Currently he leads a copperplate Studio at his hone university and a Graphics Art Studio at State Higher Vocational School in Nowy Sacz.
Since September 2016 he has been selected to the International Advisory Board at the International Academic Printmaking Alliance, which has been established in Beijing, China, in Central Academy of Fine Arts. Since 2019 is a Deputy Dean of International. Printmaking Institute in Beijing, China.
Since graduation, he has created over a dozen series of graphic works, using the techniques of etching, linocut, and most frequently using his own intaglio techniques, fat lifting, sand tint, alintaglio, cutting plotter engraving, blaster gun mezzotint. He presented them in over 40 individual exhibitions, including shows: in the Gallery of the Polish Institute in Vienna, Austria; in Galerie Abtswoude in Delft, The Netherlands; in Dominik Rostworowski Gallery, in Jan Fejkiel Gallery and in Raven Gallery in Krakow; in Expositie in 't Reghthuys, Nieuwkoop, The Netherlands; in Gallery by the Rectorate in the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdansk; in Mazmanian Gallery, Framingham State University, Massachusetts, USA; at the University of Ostrava, Czech Republic; in the Rektorat Gallery at the University of Zielona Góra; in Pryzmat Gallery. at ZPAP in Krakow; in the Gallery at the Diplomats in Warsaw; in the University Gallery in Cieszyn; in Strug Gallery in Zakopane; in Re-Medium Gallery - City Gallery of Art in Lodz; in Vilnius Graphic Art Centre, Lithuania; in Bowmana Gallery, Lviv, Ukraine; in Centrum Gallery and Eksperyment Gallery - International Center of Graphic Art, Krakow; in Extravagance Gallery, Sosnowiec; in Galerija Studio Naranča, Split, Croatia; in Engram Gallery, Katowice; in City Art Gallery MM, Chorzow; in Spodki WOAK Gallery, Bialystok; in Lviv National Art Gallery – Borys Voznytsky, Ukraine.
Participated in about 400 group exhibitions, including international competition exhibitions (Germany, USA, Taiwan, Spain, The Netherlands, Great Britain, Hungary, Sweden, Belgium, France, Italy, Brazil, Ukraine, Croatia, Mace¬donia, Russia, Canada, Japan, China, Norway, India).
He has won over 20 awards and honourable mentions. The most important of those are: the grant of the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation in Canada in 1990 and, most recently: bronze medal at the International Print Exhibition, Yunnan 2012, China; twice the statutory award at the Polish Print Triennial in Katowice in 2012 and in 2015; honorable mention in the 12th Jozef Gielniak Print Competition in 2012 in Jelenia Gora as well as the Ars Quaerendi award of the Governor of the Malopolska Province in 2014; special prize at the 7th International Split Graphic in Croatia (2015); bronze medal in the II Novosibirsk International Triennial of Contempo¬rary Graphic Arts in Russia (2018); second prize on the II International Print Biennale in Yerevan, Armenia (2019); Grand Prix award in the jubilee 10th Splitgraphic, Croatia (2021); main prize on the International Print Biennale in Guanlan, China (2023).
His works may be found in private and public collections including those of: The National Museum in Krakow; Leon Wyczółkowski Museum in Bydgoszcz; Engravings Cabinet of the PAN in Krakow; The Polish Museum of America, Chicago, The Benton Museum, Claremont, California, USA; Yunnan Museum, Kunming City, Yunnan, China; Guanlan Printmaking Base Collection and China Printmaking Museum, China, Splitgraphic Collection, Croatia; Museum of Paper, Kanagawa, Japan; Collections of: ZPAP, SMTG, ASP and UJ). in Krakow.
In the years 2009 - 2013 he was member of board of the International Print Triennial (SMTG) Association in Krakow. Curator of many printmaking ex hibitions accompanying MTG in Krakow as well as international exhibitions promoting printmaking from Krakow and from Poland.
In the years 1994 - 2000 he collaborated intensively with Jerzy Panek, providing technological support for his series of prints in the drypoint and, predominantly, sugar aquatint techniques. Several dozen prints were created this way. He was involved in a similar relationship with the distinguished engraver Czesław Słania in the last twenty years of his life.
