AUTHOR
Biography
– 15.08.1949 Stanisław Wysocki’s day of birth
– 1968—1972 studies on the Academy of Physical Education in Wrocław
– 1978—1980 extramural studies in the Państwowa Wyższa Szkoła Sztuk Plastycznych (State School of Plastic Arts) in Poznań
– 1980—1985 internship in sculpture foundry Hermann Noack Bildgiesserei in Berlin
– 1981—1986 studies in Hochschule der Künste Berlin
– 1984 first exhibition, “Sztuka Polska” gallery, Berlin
– 1986 return to Wrocław
– 1986 first individual exhibition “Desa,” Wrocław
– 1986—2012 over 70 individual exhibitions and dozens of group exhibitions, domestic and abroad
– 2009 Wrocław award
– 2011 Silesian Cultural Award
Important works in the urban setting:
– „Powodzianka” on Most Uniwersytecki in Wrocław
– Siberian Cross (Krzyż Sybiracki) in Redemptorist church in Wrocław
– statue of pope John Paul II in Psie Pole district in Wrocław
– figure of Wrocław Negro on Solny square in Wrocław
– statue of Marshal Józef Piłsudski in Lubin
– statue of pope John Paul II in Gdansk
– model of The holy Mary Basilica in Gdansk
– sculptures exhibited on RMS Queen Mary 2 cruise liner
– sculptures: Pływaczka, Vende, Marylin – Wrocław Centrum SPA
– statue of a poet J. Eichendorff in the botanical garden in Wrocław
– numerous sculptures in public and private space abroad (the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, USA).
biography
Stanisław Wysocki, sculpturer, athlete, traveller. He was born in 1949 in Ełk. He found his safe haven on the banks of Oder River, where in his workshop famous to all Europe, he created his unique sculptures. He began as an alumni of the Academy of Physical Education in Wroclaw, he saw his future in sports. However, Wrocław on the break of the 60s and the 70s was a place teeming with cultural life and it quickly fascinated the young athlete. He began drawing, painting and sculpting. Then he decided to take a courageous step – he left a position on the Academy of Physical Education and moved to Berlin to study art. Thanks to the studies at Hochschule der Künste with professor J.H. Lonas and work in Berlin, he learnt the diversity of European sculpture in the 20th century and he had the opportunity to meet personally some of its greatest representatives. In the renowned Berlin foundry “Hermann Noack Bildgiesserei,” where in the early 80s he met a great English sculpturer Henry Moore. For some time he worked with the famous artist casting his sculptures. Later he often be compared to the great Englishman and even he himself admitted that Moore had a great influence on his work. Inspiration and learned craftsmanship, which were the results of this period, came with him back to Wrocław, where he continued to
work on his unique sculptures and flourish as an artist. Stanisław Wysocki rarely speaks of his art, he hides in his work, nourishing the artistic tension within him. Somewhat silently he grows and matures to face the subject and the material. Then he releases this tension, but gradually. The sculptures are first made in clay. This is a unique moment when the hands of the artist create a new shape. Then he makes a form to finally fill it with bronze hot like molten lava. When the new work is created, the artist’s workshop changes beyond recognition – the temperature, heavy physical labour and release of artistic tension create uncanny atmosphere. While presenting his work in public galleries, placing them in urban setting or on the deck of luxurious transatlantic ships, Stanisław Wysocki awakes the primal need to commune with beautiful objects that is hidden beneath the mundane routine. The artist who does not avoid presenting sculptures in public spaces, gives the audience a chance for –often surprising –aesthetic experiences which are so important in the increasingly chaotic reality. Stanisław Wysocki received numerous awards. In 2011 he was awarded the Silesian, Land of the Lower Saxony Cultural Award.
Dr Maciej Łagiewski
