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a painting of a woman ' s face and a man ' s face in the backgrounda close up of a piece of metal with writing on itan image of a picture of a picture of a picture of a picture of a picture of a picture of a picture of a picture of a picture of a picture
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Vermot & Associé

1 - Marius Zabinski (born 1956, Poland)
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Estimate €100 - €200
Sale commission
Description
Marius Zabinski (born 1956, Poland) Behind the Curtain Oil on canvas 33 x 41 cm Signed lower right Marius Zabinski’s Studio (Poland, 1956) Painting as a space for the gaze For Marius Zabinski, painting does not merely represent the world: it recomposes it within the space of the gaze. As an heir to modernism and deeply influenced by the lessons of Cubism, the artist fragments forms, displaces them and superimposes them to reveal a more inner reality. The face, the body, the animal or the landscape are never treated as isolated motifs, but as elements of a composition where colour, material, light and memory converge. His compositions thus seem to be built up in successive layers. Fragments of figures emerge amidst blocks of colour, vertical lines, geometric shapes or textured surfaces. The gaze is sometimes frontal, sometimes concealed, occasionally reduced to a single eye or a profile that seems to emerge from an abstract architectural form. Far from dissolving the figure, this fragmentation, on the contrary, lends it an almost mysterious presence: it suggests what lies hidden behind appearances and invites the viewer to mentally reconstruct what they perceive only in part. Colour plays an essential role in this exploration. Deep blues, indigos, ochres, earth tones, blacks and metallic shades are arranged in a relationship of tension and balance. The pictorial surface itself becomes a territory: a space where matter, signs and forms seem to retain traces of a world that has been lived, dreamt or is in a state of perpetual transformation. In some works, human silhouettes stand side by side like silent presences; elsewhere, a landscape or an architectural element opens up the composition towards a wider space. Throughout, Zabinski maintains a fruitful tension between figuration and abstraction, geometric order and freedom of gesture, reality and the imagination. The works brought together here form part of a body of around two hundred canvases, produced during a period in the artist’s career that has now come to an end. Through its visual coherence, the richness of its exploration and the ambition that runs through it, this body of work constitutes one of the most significant bodies of work in Marius Zabinski’s oeuvre. It was also during these years that the artist was awarded, in October 2015, the ‘Lorenzo il Magnifico’ Prize in the Painting category, presented at the 10th Florence International Biennale of Contemporary Art. This body of work thus bears witness to a visual language that has reached full maturity. The works appear as variations on a number of fundamental questions: identity, encounter, the relationship with the other, memory, choice, the passage of time and the possibility of a future. The human figure, often reduced to a few essential lines, becomes the focal point of these explorations. An eye, a profile, or two faces facing one another can be enough to give rise to an entire story. And this story continues right into the titles. They are not mere labels: they, too, tell a story, like the chapters of a fragmented narrative that each painting serves to complete. Behind the Curtain, The Duel, Waiting for Future, Indigo Evolution, Presence of Women, Elegant, Carmina, New Reality, Flying Circus, The Lovers, Doubts Persist, Paparazzi, Profile of Lola, The Choice, The Sails of Freedom, The Grey Truth, Focus, Eternal Questions, Indigo Meeting… So many words, situations and enigmas that extend the painting beyond the surface and invite the viewer to imagine both what precedes the scene and what might follow it. Thus, behind the skilful composition of the planes and the richness of the materials, Marius Zabinski’s painting remains profoundly narrative and human. It never quite reveals its subject in full. It deliberately retains a degree of mystery, one that compels the viewer to return, to search, to piece together the fragments and, ultimately, to write their own story. An overview of the artistic career of Marius Zabinski (1980–2026) After training at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, Marius Zabinski settled in France in 1980. According to the biographical information provided by the Galerie Montmartre, his arrival was linked to a meeting with a Parisian art dealer who invited him to come and work and exhibit in France. He initially worked as a painting restorer, an experience that enabled him to deepen his knowledge of both traditional and contemporary techniques. 1980–1989: Building a European network After settling in France, Zabinski rapidly developed a network of exhibitions that also extended to Belgium and Norway. The first event to be precisely documented was the one in Oslo in 1983, followed by Strasbourg (1985), then several galleries in Brussels (1987–1989). 1990–2000: Consolidation in Belgium and expansion into Japan The 1990s saw a regular presence in Belgium: Charleroi, Brussels, Genk and Liège. In 1998, Zabinski took a new step forward with the Nishigaoka Gallery in Sendai, Japan. In 2000, he exhibited in Monte Carlo. 2001–2008: International expansion and New York Brussels remained a key base, whilst the network expanded. The exhibition at the Interart Gallery in New York in 2005, followed by the retrospective announced for 2006, marked an important moment in his international career. At the same time, Honfleur became another point of presence in France. 2010–2016: International expansion and recognition in Florence The United States, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Monaco and Paris successively feature in his career. The year 2015 marked a high point with the exhibition at Carmen’s Gallery in the US and, above all, his participation in the 10th Florence Biennale, where Zabinski was jointly awarded the Fifth Prize for painting. 2017–2026: The development of a personal artistic language and market presence From 2017 onwards, available sources provide more detailed documentation of his artistic and commercial activity: exhibitions in France, a presence in Belgian galleries, followed by a notable return to the Polish market in 2022. In 2024, Horus Gallery once again exhibited his works in Belgium, including *Évolution*, dated that same year. In September 2026, Étude Vermot et Associés had the honour of conducting the sale of his studio collection, comprising 211 works, with the expertise of Virginie Journiac. Virginie Journiac, Art Historian and Certified Expert with CECOA, FNEPSA and CEDEA
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About the sale Marius Zabinski – Studio Collection
Auction location
Auction time 09/23/2026 at 2:30 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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