Once Upon a Time
Marcin Cienski
March 10 - March 31, 2025
Marcin Cienski (b. 1976, Poland) lives and works in Minneapolis, USA, with his husband and their three dogs.
Cienski earned his Master of Fine Arts degree in 2001 from the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow, Poland. He has exhibited extensively in both the United States and Europe, with solo exhibitions in New York, Leipzig, Antwerp, and Zurich, among others. His work has been featured in significant museum shows, including Nocturne at Kunsthalle der Sparkasse in Leipzig and Die Zimmer der Nomaden at Kunstverein Tiergarten in Berlin. His paintings have been acquired by major private and institutional collections, including the Eileen S. Kaminsky Family Foundation (USA), Hauser & Wirth (Switzerland), the SØR Rusche Collection (Germany), and AmC Collezione Coppola (Italy).
Selected Museum & Institutional Exhibitions
Nocturne, Kunsthalle der Sparkasse, Leipzig, Germany (2015)
Die Zimmer der Nomaden (The Rooms of the Nomads), Kunstverein Tiergarten, Berlin, Germany (2015)
Tierstücke, SØR Rusche Collection, Museum Abtei Liesborn, Germany (2013)
Collections
Eileen S. Kaminsky Family Foundation, USA
Hauser & Wirth, Zurich, Switzerland
SØR Rusche Collection, Oelde, Germany
AmC Collezione Coppola, Vicenza, Italy
His work has also been supported by international residencies, including Can Xalant in Spain and BBK-Berlin in Germany, further enriching his engagement with European and American artistic traditions.
Marcin Cienski says that when he paints, he often feels as though he is tapping into something beyond himself—something greater. This connection allows his work to transcend technical and intellectual constraints, transforming him into both messenger and tool. There is a certain magic in this process—an almost alchemical quality that keeps him returning to the canvas.
While his paintings are not intentionally dark, they often challenge the viewer. Yet life itself is a mixture of beauty, absurdity, and fear—his work embraces this complexity, often with a touch of humor.
His recent works capture quiet, suspended moments—scenes poised between day and night, where people and animals exist in a state of tender waiting. They gather in close proximity, perhaps seeking shelter from an uncertain world. This atmosphere first emerged during the pandemic, when collective limbo and anticipation for change shaped daily life. That metaphor persists, reflecting a world still searching for refuge in closeness—with animals, with each other. His figures endure.
Themes of memento mori also surface throughout his work. Living in America, particularly in Minnesota, means being surrounded by a difficult history, and the recurring skull motif is no coincidence. Yet alongside these meditations on mortality, his paintings also celebrate the sublime—a journey through a snowstorm, the quiet enormity of the stars, the fragile beauty of fleeting moments.
Lately, Cienski has been drawn to more intimate works—paintings that affirm the necessity of human connection and the appreciation of beauty as a way forward. In uncertain times, these small, quiet moments feel more vital than ever.