Sculpture: Thinking in the physical form
The Zachęta National Gallery of Art's newest exhibition, entitled simply "Zbrożyna," is showing pieces of one of the most renowned Polish sculptors of the 20th century, Barbara Zbrożyna (1923-1995). The exhibition will be open until May 18.
A disciple of legendary sculptors Xavery Dunikowski and Franciszek Strynkiewicz, Zbrożyna described sculpting as a "physical form of thinking" and the means of depicting her emotional attitude towards reality.
She experimented with a variety of artistic styles of the second half of the 20th century, ranging from realism to abstractionism. The principle behind her work was to capture reality through individual existence in order to show key aspects of human life, according to the organizers of the exhibition.
Among Zbrożyna's most outstanding works are the The River, Sculpture in a Garden, Mourning Figures, The Sun, as well as Sarcophagi, which she described as "a trace of man, a token of martyrdom." One of her best-known pieces is Przekupka (the Hawker), a socialist-realistic figure of a women with a hen in the Warsaw district of Mariensztat.
Apart from sculpture, Zbrożyna pursued drawing, in which she touched upon themes of human suffering with deformed, organic figures.
An active member of the anticommunist movement, in 1976 Zbrożyna signed the famous "Letter of 59," an open letter by Polish intellectuals protesting proposed changes to the communist-era constitution to make for a "permanent and unbreakable alliance with the Soviet Union." She also contributed to creating an underground culture movement after the imposition of martial law in 1981, by turning her studio into the scene of illegal meetings, discussions, and exhibitions. Her work was awarded by the Solidarnoć movement in the 1980s.
The Zachęta National Gallery of Art is located at ul. Małachowskiego 3, Warsaw. For more information log on to http://www.zacheta.art.pl/.
