Iwan Kulik was born in 1959 in Ukraine. From 1983 to 1989, he studied interior architecture and monumental painting at the Institute of Applied Arts in Kharkiv. In 1990, he moved to Poland and settled in Warsaw.

The dominant part of Kulik’s work consists of oil paintings, often grouped into thematic cycles. His most notable series are inspired by great historical and artistic figures, the atmosphere of specific places, and portraits. A uniquely Polish motif in Kulik’s art is the character of Stańczyk, who features prominently in many of his works.

Since 2001, the artist has also been creating gouaches thematically related to major literary works. The first piece of literature that inspired him was The Master and Margarita. This series resulted in approximately 700 gouaches, of which 125 were used in publications by the Adi Art gallery, and around 90 appeared in a beautifully illustrated edition of The Master and Margarita.

Between 2003 and 2004, he created another cycle inspired by Animal Farm, followed by a series based on Don Quixote.

Kulik’s first solo exhibition in Poland was held in 1991 at the Polish Parliament (Sejm) building. Since then, he has had numerous solo shows, primarily in Warsaw, Łódź, Sopot, and also in Vienna. In 2001, he was invited by the renowned Italian vineyard Cormòns to design a label for their Vino della Pace.

To date, Kulik has created around 4,000 oil paintings and gouaches during his time in Poland. These works are now in private collections around the world.