Beksiński Unknown. Sculptures - the Perfect Form

In the 1960s, Zdzisław Beksiński created sculptural sketches of works in plaster, whose contemporary casts in bronze in a limited edition are presented in the collection.

By East of Art Foundation

Documentation of 'Beksiński. Sculptures' exhibition in Royal Gardens at Wawel Castle (2023) by Katarzyna MierzwińskaEast of Art Foundation

We could discover the unknown face of Zdzisław Beksiński - the sculptor - for the first time in the Royal Gardens at Wawel Castle.
All thanks to a delightful and unobvious outdoor exhibition entitled "Beksiński. Sculptures."

Documentation of 'Beksiński. Sculptures' exhibition in Royal Gardens at Wawel Castle (2023) by Katarzyna MierzwińskaEast of Art Foundation

At the Wawel exhibition we could see bronze casts of 14 intriguing works by the artist:
9 head-skulls, 3 bas-reliefs and monumental sculptures of Macbeth and Hamlet.

Documentation of 'Beksiński. Sculptures' exhibition in Royal Gardens at Wawel Castle (2023) by Katarzyna MierzwińskaEast of Art Foundation

The works on the basis of which the contemporary casts were created come from the collections of the Historical Museum in Sanok and the BWA in Rzeszów.

Photoshoot in the Batory courtyard at Wawel Castle (2023) by Katarzyna MierzwińskaEast of Art Foundation

Heads, skulls are perfect forms

- the artist made them in plaster, but he aimed to make the final effect as artistically, visually, formally as possible. Therefore, he "patinated" plaster so that it "pretended" to be a nobler material.

Photoshoot in the Batorego courtyard at Wawel Castle (2023) by Katarzyna MierzwińskaEast of Art Foundation

The beautiful and smooth surfaces

of these sculptures are refined like everything in Beksiński's work, an ideal of formal perfection. He defines the shapes with sensitivity and precision.

Photoshoot in the Batory courtyard at Wawel Castle (2023) by Katarzyna MierzwińskaEast of Art Foundation

The dissonance

arises when we consider the meaning of the sculptures. The representations are dark, sometimes turpid, materializing a fear-filled vision of transience, pessimistic and destructive, the artist's emotional states familiar to us from his drawings and paintings.

About the exhibition "Beksiński. Sculptures" in the Royal Gardens of the Wawel Castle tells the co-curator of the exhibition, Małgorzata Gołębiewska.

The Head 1, Zdzisław Beksiński, 21th Century, From the collection of: East of Art Foundation

The Head 2, Zdzisław Beksiński, 21th Century, From the collection of: East of Art Foundation

The Head 3, Zdzisław Beksiński, 21th Century, From the collection of: East of Art Foundation

The Head 4, Zdzisław Beksiński, 21th Century, From the collection of: East of Art Foundation

The Head 5, Zdzisław Beksiński, 21th Century, From the collection of: East of Art Foundation

The Head 6, Zdzisław Beksiński, 21th Century, From the collection of: East of Art Foundation

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Reproductions of the sculptures (Heads) featured in the exhibition "Beksiński. Sculptures".

The Head 7, Zdzisław Beksiński, 21th Century, From the collection of: East of Art Foundation

The Head 8, Zdzisław Beksiński, 21th Century, From the collection of: East of Art Foundation

The Head 9, Zdzisław Beksiński, 21th Century, From the collection of: East of Art Foundation

Relief 1, Zdzisław Beksiński, 21th Century, From the collection of: East of Art Foundation

Relief 3, Zdzisław Beksiński, 21th Century, From the collection of: East of Art Foundation

Relief 2, Zdzisław Beksiński, 21th Century, From the collection of: East of Art Foundation

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Reproductions of the sculptures (Heads and Reliefs) featured in the exhibition "Beksiński. Sculptures."

Hamlet, Zdzisław Beksiński, 21th Century, From the collection of: East of Art Foundation

Mackbeth, Zdzisław Beksiński, 21th Century, From the collection of: East of Art Foundation

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The monumental sculptures (Hamlet and Macbeth) featured in the exhibition "Beksiński. Sculptures."

Documentation of 'Beksiński. Sculptures' exhibition in Royal Gardens at Wawel Castle (2023) by Katarzyna MierzwińskaEast of Art Foundation

When we hear "Zdzisław Beksiński", characteristic paintings filled with mystery and darkness immediately come to mind, but thanks to this exhibition, the unknown face of Beksiński, the artist-sculptor could be known to the public, art connoisseurs and collectors.

Credits: Story

East of Art Foundation

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