Jerzy Moscicki,
Light Before Colour
Lyon, a city of light, textiles… and pastel
There are encounters that leave a lasting mark on an artist’s practice. Meeting Jerzy Moscicki was one of those encounters for me. I was introduced to pastel in his Lyon studio in 2016.
During a stay in Lyon, I discovered a pastel exhibition at the Parc de la Tête d’Or organised by L’Art de Cœur de l’Art. I immediately fell in love with Jerzy’s work.
Lyon is not only associated with painting and pastel: it is also, and perhaps above all, a city of textiles of silk, the canuts silk workers, and a textile tradition that has shaped an important part of my own creative world. Two threads thus come together: the light we paint and the material we weave.
Jerzy Moscicki, a Master Pastellist based in Lyon
Jerzy Moscicki is a Polish-born painter and pastellist who has lived in France since the early 1980s, after studying at the School of Fine Arts in Wrocław. Today, he divides his time between his studio on the slopes of Croix-Rousse, in Lyon, and a studio in the Ain region, where he creates his work and welcomes students for painting and pastel classes.
Named a Master Pastellist by the Société des Pastellistes de France, he has received numerous awards throughout his career, both in France and internationally.
Winner of the Société des Pastellistes de France First Prize in 2014, he took part in the first International Pastel Festival in Suzhou, China, in 2015. The following year, he exhibited at the second International Pastel Biennale held at the Ming Gallery of Art in Suzhou. Some of his works are now part of the collection of the Pastel Museum in China. In 2019, he was named a Master Pastellist and also received the Richeson Pastel Bronze Award as part of the competition showcasing the 100 best pastels selected by the American magazine Pastel Journal. His career and several of his works are presented on the website of the Salon Pastel en Bourgogne, where he was guest of honour in 2024.
What I appreciate about Jerzy is, of course, his talent and the power of his work, but also his humour and open-mindedness. I love the enthusiasm with which he describes a pastel that catches his attention. He is the only pastellist I have met who combines such a strong critical eye with such curiosity.
This openness is also reflected in his teaching. Today, he offers an approach that is both classical and playful, sharing his knowledge without confining his students to his own way of working. He also organises a variety of painting and pastel classes and workshops.
“Before I see colour, I look at the light ”
What first strikes you about Jerzy Moscicki’s work is his approach to chiaroscuro. He belongs to the tradition of painters who construct their subjects through light rather than colour. It is shadow — that “non-colour”, as he himself describes it — that brings life and mystery to the subject.
A uniformly lit subject, he explains, becomes flat. On the contrary, it is what the shadows conceal that invites the viewer to imagine and create a story around the unseen part of the painting.
This concept is also central to his teaching method, which he calls the value-based method. The work begins by establishing the values, from the darkest areas to the lightest. Colour is then introduced gradually, through successive layers, building upon this initial construction of light.
This method is presented in the educational document “La couleur à travers la lumière” (“Colour Through Light”), published on the website of the Société des Pastellistes de France.
Pastel exhibitions and a guest of honour
I have had the privilege and honour of exhibiting twice at pastel exhibitions where Jerzy Moscicki was guest of honour: at the Salon Pastel en Bourgogne in 2024, and then at the Salon du Pastel d’Égly, south of Paris, in 2026.
These exhibitions are always precious occasions for pastellists: we discover each other’s work and exchange ideas about techniques, papers and pigments. And sometimes, we meet again an artist whose journey and artistic vision continue to give fresh impetus to our own practice.
To find out more: read the article about Jerzy Moscicki in Pratique des Arts, “Entre classicisme et onirisme” (“Between Classicism and Dreamlike Imagery”).
Do you have any questions?
Whether you’d like to purchase a piece, commission a custom portrait, or simply discuss my artistic approach, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I’d be happy to answer your questions.