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Igor Kaminski (1887–1942)

Polish-Jewish Artist

The biography of Igor Kaminski is fragmentary. Although a prolific European painter of the early 19th Century his work is rarely cited and most of his paintings are found in Austria and Switzerland.

Kaminski was born in Warszawa into a musical family. At first he wanted to become a musician but he never succeeded. His cousin Joseph Kaminski became a well-known violinist in Poland. Kaminski studied art at the Kunstschule Witebsk where he was probably influenced by artists like Paul Klee and Marc Chagall. After residences in Zürich and Wien he became a victim of the Nazi regime and died in a concentration camp in Birkenau. His paintings are sometimes found in Europe but to date there is no official inventory.

Kaminski's work is abstract and constructivist. He often painted formalized animals and plants. Kaminski worked with different types of media, most often gouache and oil on cardboard. He was acquainted with the Polish constructivist painter Henryk Berlewi (1894–1967). In Igor Kaminski's work the colors yellow, blue and brown are predominant and symbolized fish are common.

It can be estimated that Kaminski painted more than 500 works between 1920 and 1940.

References

Kunst von 1900 bis heute. Eröffnungsausstellung des Museums des 20. Jahrhunderts, 21. September bis 4. November 1962. Wien, Museum des 20. Jahrhunderts, 1962.

Dexel, Walter. Bilder Grafik Angewandte Kunst. Katalog. Bonn, Städt. Kunstmuseum, 1973.

Danuta Czech: Kalendarium der Ereignisse im Konzentrationslager Auschwitz-Birkenau 1939–1945 . Rowohlt Verlag Reinbek bei Hamburg 1989 ISBN 3498008846 .

File:Igor Kaminski1.jpeg File:Igor Kaminski2.jpeg Example of early paintings on cardboard, Zürich, 1924

In 1927 Igor Kaminski´s work was displayed at the Galerie Arends in Berlin under the title "color and light of animals".

Verst.-Kat. Berlin, Die Sammlung Oscar Huldschinsky, Verst. 10./11.5.1928 (Cassirer/Helbing), Berlin 1928