Born in 1938, Reverend Władysław Podhalański is a native highlander from Groń in the Bukowina Tatrzańska Commune, and a priest of the Archdiocese of Cracow. Father Podhalański started to paint as a child. In his paintings, the artist expresses the beauty of the Tatra Mountains, Podhale costumes, and the richness of the colours and shapes of the highlander culture on glass. He draws his inspiration from folk customs and traditions, as well as from religious themes. He favours painting Madonnas, but he has also created a rich collection of paintings depicting Pope John Paul II, in over 120 different poses. The paintings of Father Władysław Podhalański have been presented at his own individual exhibitions in, among other locations: Nowy Targ, Myślenice, Siepraw, Zakopane, Zakliczyn, at the castle in Sucha Beskidzka, and in Bukowiańskie Cultural Center „Dom Kultury”. Father Władysław Podhalański is also a well-known and respected art collector, who founded a unique gallery in his home village of Groń. He has gathered an impressive collection of over two thousand exhibits. These are mainly paintings, many of them by renowned Polish painters. In the gallery one can also find holy figurines, bas-reliefs, sculptures, crosses, stained glass windows, chromolithographs and furniture. In 1998, Polish public television, TVP, made a documentary about his artistic activity titled „The Priest of Podhale”. He was the winner of the Znak Marka Tatrzańska award in 2019 (Tatra Trade Mark 2019) for his unique style and technique of painting on glass, which he used to express religious and regional topics.

photos: Adrian Krawczyk