The article concerns the painting projects by Jonasz Stern, an artist whose work is part of the current of meaningful abstraction. His collage compositions present variants of seeing what gives in to transition and dematerialization. They are made up with diverse means and natural materials, opening peculiar visual spaces, with structures made up of animal bones, fish bones and skins and bird feathers. Stern’s artistic life is evidence of verifying avantgarde through a creative struggle with personal fate. What significantly influenced his art was a dramatic event from his life – surviving an execution and escaping death in the Janowski camp in Lviv. 2018 is the 30th death anniversary of the artist, who died on 2 August 1988 in Zakopane, two days before his 84 birthday.