Marek Turek

• born 1970
• born in Zabrze
• he lives and creates his works in Gliwice
• he specializes in comics, graphic arts and illustrations

“The moon is blue as an orange”.

He is a natural artist with no formal art education. He has published his works in many magazines in Poland (e.g. “AQQ”, “Komiks Forum”, “KKK”, “Czas Komiksu”, “Krakers”, “Katastrofa”, “Ziniol”, “KGB”, “Zeszyty Komiksowe”) and abroad (e.g. in the Czech Republic, Macedonia, Slovenia, Italy or the USA).

The most important publications: “Small English-Italian Illustrated Dictionary”, De Falco, 2003; “Fastnachtspiel 1. Koniec Początku”, Imago, 2003; “Fastnachtspiel 4. Infinitum”, Imago, 2006; “Międzyczas”, Timof i Cisi Wspólnicy, 2007; “Bajabongo”, Kultura Gniewu, 2008; ‘’NeST”, Kultura Gniewu, 2012; ‘’Bellmer. Niebiografia”, Kultura Gniewu, 2017.

The most important awards and distinctions: Bronze Byzant, Macedonia, 2003; 3rd place at the International Festival of Games and Comics for “Kiedy domy śnią” (story by T. Kontny), Łódź, 2011; “Kryształowy Smok” for “Para i dym” (story by G. Janusz), Dni Fantastyki, Wrocław, 2014.

Marek Turek is one of the best Polish authors of silent comics. He tells stories skilfully using only visual narration, adding an extensive metaphoric and symbolic layer.
Oscillating between realistic and surrealistic panels, touching on dreamliness, the artist uses various conventions, such as fantasy, criminal noir or grotesque.
He experiments with various styles and techniques. Turek’s works contain panels resembling a negative, ones with whiteness dominating and still other blackened almost to the point of illegibility.
Carefully finished images filled with dense lining are often put in contrast with panels purified of unnecessary detail, which resemble posters owing to their ascetic character, symbolism and abbreviated expression. Turek has developed his own style, the main component of which is experimenting with page composition, contrast and shadow. His characteristic features include deformations and a frequent change of planes or perspectives. Regardless from their artistic and aesthetic value, Turek’s comics force the reader to solve an intellectual-graphic riddle and search for references to other authors. One may observe inspirations with Thomas Otto’s drawings scratched with a knife, Andreas’s precise panel shading or Maurits Cornelis Escher’s optic illusions. The atmosphere of danger and anxiety accompanying Turek’s drawings as well as his expressionist strokes refer, most of all, to black and white silent comics by Eric Drooker or Lynd Ward’s wood engravings.

Marek Turek Gallery

More information about the artist: turucorp.blogspot.com