Some artists strive to reproduce what they see...

Boguslaw Lustyk is passionately driven to produce what he can't see.  His art is fueled by an unrelenting need to express power and energy not yet manifested.  Lustyk paints with a rare devotion to discipline.  Sentimentalism has no place in his expression.  Lustyk sees beauty and elegance which grace horses but it is their spirit and power that excites him, incites his art.  Lustyk's art utilizes vibrant color to emphasize movement. 

His first-hand knowledge of horses is apparent. However abstract his images may appear they remain in harmony with the anatomy of the horse and the movements of which they are capable.  The tension reels with drama.  Bold strokes display the determined will of horses, the play of form and color infer subtleties of their temperaments.  The viewer is forced to accept challenge, admire strength and accept mystical elements beyond our control.

Lustyk's art is influenced by his young years growing up in war ravaged Poland.  The thirst of desire reflects through an aura of mystique.  Acceptance is silent while possibilities are magnified.  The more you study the work the less hampered you feel by the limits of life, the mind expands and plays with the infinite possibilities waiting to be played upon.  Moving from painting to painting is to be reminded of every aesthetic of the horse, life and art.  Our tendency to look at horses anthropomorphically succumbs to seeing the lines, the fluidity of motion and the power.  Quietly the transformation of civilization pries its way into consciousness.  The evolution of art, the changes that time imprints begins to unfold.

The whole purpose of art is brought refreshingly to the surface.  Art teaches us what is there to be seen.  Lustyk, the horse lover, the graphic artist, the perfectionist takes us on tour through his art.  His imagination paints a foundation for us to become curious about the future, accepting of change.  His inherent love and understanding of horses is his vehicle, his passion his motivator.  So long as there are canvases to paint on his story will continue.

Paul Mellon once wrote, "I believe that the horse is an archetypal symbol which will always stir up deep and moving ancestral memories in every human being."  Boguslaw Lustyk mirrors the reality of this statement in his art.

Marilyn Lane

Journalist, Art & Horse