Léopold Plotek, born 1948
Léopold Plotek's 1 Most Famous Paintings
Extravagant (1981) is the painting Léopold Plotek is best remembered for; it belongs to the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. Our catalogue counts 1 works by Léopold Plotek. Here are the 1 most famous, with the year, the museum and the story of each canvas.
Ranked by our popularity score, which combines the searches, visits and orders for each work. Updated October 2026.
- Born · died
- born 1948, Moscow
- Works in our catalogue
- 1
- Most famous
- Extravagant (1981)
- Most works at
- National Gallery of Canada
The ten best-loved paintings by Léopold Plotek
Where Léopold Plotek's canvases hang
The museum that holds the most of the paintings on this page.
| Museum | City | Works by Léopold Plotek | Paintings from this list |
|---|---|---|---|
 National Gallery of Canada |
Ottawa | 1 | Extravagant |
Léopold Plotek's most famous canvases, one year after another
The dated canvases of Léopold Plotek on this page all belong to 1981: here they are, in order of fame.
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1981
1 of 1
Extravagant
Léopold Plotek's canvases, question by question
Which canvas is Léopold Plotek most remembered for?Read the answer
Extravagant (1981).
Extravagant: how old was Léopold Plotek when it was painted?Read the answer
Léopold Plotek, born in 1948, was 33 years old: Extravagant dates from 1981.
How many paintings did Léopold Plotek create?Read the answer
1 works by Léopold Plotek are in our catalogue.
Where do Léopold Plotek's most famous canvases hang today?Read the answer
Mostly in National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa); the list above names each museum and its canvases.
Meet the painter: Léopold Plotek
The Artistic Journey of Léopold Plotek
Born in Moscow, Russia, Léopold Plotek’s life has been shaped by movement and diverse cultural landscapes. After growing up in Poland, he emigrated with his parents to Canada in 1960. His academic foundation began in Montreal, where he studied Classics at McGill University before pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts at Sir George Williams University. His formal training was furthered at the Slade School of Fine Art in London. Today, Plotek resides in Montreal, where he serves as a member of the Fine Arts Studio faculty at Concordia University.
Plotek’s practice is characterized by a unique synthesis of abstraction and figuration within large-format paintings. His work often draws from a vast array of personal and intellectual sources, including architecture, objects, poetry, and history. Throughout his career, his stylistic approach has evolved, moving from the influences of the late 1970s into a period in the 1980s marked by an engagement with object relations theory. His paintings are often singular conceptions, sometimes developing into series that extend the boundaries of abstraction.
Exhibitions and Collections
Plotek has maintained an extensive exhibition history, featuring in both solo and group shows across Canada. Notable milestones include his participation in Quebec 75 and a solo exhibition at Concordia University. His work has been showcased at several prestigious institutions, such as the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, and the Southern Alberta Art Gallery. In 2017, the Koffler Centre of the Arts in Toronto presented a survey of his practice spanning five decades.
His paintings are held in several major Canadian public collections, including: