An exhibition of paintings by the late Polish artist Zdzisław Beksiński, who in 2005 was murdered in his appartment in Warsaw aged 75, has opened in the main lobby of the European Parliament in Brussels.

On display are 21 paintings from the collection of the Regional Museum in Sanok, south-eastern Poland, where the artist was born and lived for many years.

The director of the museum, Wiesław Banach, who was Beksiński’s close friend, said he hoped the exhibition would serve as a reminder of the high calibre of Beksiński’s art and bring to international attention the museum in Sanok, which boasts over 6, 000 of Beksiński’s paintings, sculptures, graphic prints and photographs.

Beksinski won a great reputation in Europe and Japan in the 1970s and 80s for his works depicting disfigured objects or people against a background of hazy light. He is the only European artist to have a permanent exhibition of his work in the Osaka Museum.

The artist famous for his gruesome images met a gruesome end. Beksiński was found with multiple stab wounds in his flat in southern Warsaw five years ago. Local teenager Robert Kupiec was convicted of the murder after the artist refused him a loan. Kupiec is spending 25 years in prison for the crime. (mk/pg)