The Animal Band

The Animal Band, which is on permanent display at the Chihiro Art Museum Azumino, greeting visitors to the museum, is by representative Polish picture book artist J?zef Wilko?. Fond of animals since childhood, Wilko?, who now lives in a suburb of Warsaw on land surrounded by nature and populated with animals, has created numerous sculptures of animals, birds and fish. Created using such materials as wood roughly carved using a billhook and hammered metal, these animals have an animated expressiveness, appearing almost as if they were alive. Wilko?’s picture books, which also feature animal characters, are widely translated and are read the world over.