Julian Stanczak is a truly inspiring character who experienced great highs and lows within his life. His artworks were never an attempt to document his life in fact his art often acted as a tonic for his past experiences for as he said “I did not want to be bombarded daily by the past, I looked for anonymity of actions through non-referential abstract art” . 

Having been born in Poland, at the start of the Second World War Stanczack was forced into a Siberian labour camp where he permanently lost the use of his right arm. At the age of thirteen he escaped from Siberia and briefly joined the Anders Army travelling through the Middle East, Persia and eventually settling in a Polish refugee camp in Uganda. After the war he briefly settled in London before emigrating to the United States.

Spending much of the 50s firstly studying under artists such as Joseph Albers and then teaching it was in the 1960s that he found his own particular style. His first major show of optical paintings held at the Martha Jackson Gallery in 1964 would lead to the Times paper coining the term Op-Art. Op art became a sensation both within the US, Europe and UK with many artists such as Bridget Riley taking on the this bold new way of painting.

Appreciation of Julians work grew through the 70s with him putting on thirty one one man shows across America. Whilst his style evolved he never strayed from his roots within optical art and his work can be found in many museums including:

The Museum of modern Art, New York,  National Gallery of Art, Washington,  Hirshhorn Museum, Washington,  Albright Knox art gallery, Buffalo and the Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh