Krzysztof M. Bednarski. Moby Dick - Sculpture

November 30, 2012 - March 02, 2013

Krzysztof Bednarski is a distinguished contemporary Polish sculptor. Alumnus of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw (studied in Professor Jerzy Jarnuszkiewicz studio), he also collaborated with Jerzy Grotowski's world-famous experimental Laboratory Theatre.

A highly creative artist and strong personality, Bednarski is a leading international figure (he lives in Rome) also actively present on the Polish art scene.

In 1987, Bednarski created an unusual sculpture: Moby Dick or 16 Sections onto Infinity which became something of a programmatic manifesto of the later 1980s; a poetic image of pursuing the unattainable, a cosmic symbol of the universal order, a sculptural and intellectual provocation. The piece, today featured at the permanent exhibition of the Art Museum in Łódź, has brought him international recognition. His Moby Dick is a peculiar model of space which the artist has repeatedly altered and transformed, each time producing a new and innovative work. The sculpture has started the project realised over the years and based on transforming the boat-cum-whale – the Leviathan – and exploring the resultant spatial and semantic relationships.

The departure point and material foundation of the 1987 Moby Dick was the cut up hull of a wrecked boat stuck on the shore of the Vistula River: the found object removed from its original context and order. Through successive transformations of the theme, Bednarski returned to traditional materials and techniques of sculpture. Reduced in size, the minimalist and abbreviated models of Moby Dick are carved in marble or cast in bronze and patinated. Bednarski treats them as sculptural objects: the variants, variations and matrixes of the principal theme. He has elaborated the motif in several interconnected series: Masks (from 1989) and – from 1996 – Sections and Integral Surfaces. The latter series in particular has opened a field for extraordinary experimentation in transformation of forms based on the Moby Dick model. Bednarski's most recent works from the MD& series mark the artist's return to the architectonical scale and showcase his virtuosity. The exhibition elucidates the path Bednarski has travelled – the passage from the models of space to fully spatial sculptural creation.

 

Waldemar Baraniewski

 

 

Running commentary made by Aleksanda Łapkiewicz in Polish Radio 2 about Krzysztof M. Bednarski

Reportage from exhibition: from 1'45" to 5'25"

Agnieszka Sural review from "Moby Dick - sculpture" exhibition.

 

Media patronage:

 

        

 

 

Special thanks to support in preparation this exhibition:

  

• MD& (I), 2010 MD& (I), 2010
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• MD& (IV), 2011 MD& (IV), 2011
• MD& (III), 2011 MD& (III), 2011
• MD& (V), 2011 MD& (V), 2011
• MD& (VI), 2010 MD& (VI), 2010
• MD& (VII), 2011 MD& (VII), 2011
• MD& (IX), 2012 MD& (IX), 2012
• MD& (VIII), 2011 MD& (VIII), 2011
• Moby Dick — Vertical Whale, 2012 Moby Dick — Vertical Whale, 2012
• Moby Dick — Mask, 1992 Moby Dick — Mask, 1992
• Moby Dick — Mask, 1992 Moby Dick — Mask, 1992
• Moby Dick — Doppio, 1997 Moby Dick — Doppio, 1997
• Moby Dick — Lacrimosa, 2007 Moby Dick — Lacrimosa, 2007
• Moby Dick — Mask/Section, 2008 Moby Dick — Mask/Section, 2008
• Moby Dick — Section, 2008 Moby Dick — Section, 2008
• Moby Dick — Integral Surface, 2007 Moby Dick — Integral Surface, 2007
• Moby Dick — Mask, 1996 Moby Dick — Mask, 1996
• Moby Dick — Integral Surface, 2007 Moby Dick — Integral Surface, 2007
• Moby Dick —Integral Surface, 2008 Moby Dick —Integral Surface, 2008
• Moby Dick — Integral Surface (I), 2008 Moby Dick — Integral Surface (I), 2008
• Moby Dick — Integral Surface (II), 2008 Moby Dick — Integral Surface (II), 2008
• Moby Dick — Integral Surface (III), 2008 Moby Dick — Integral Surface (III), 2008
• Integral Surface (IV), 2008 Integral Surface (IV), 2008
• Integral Surface (V), 2008 Integral Surface (V), 2008
• Integral Surface (VI), 2008 Integral Surface (VI), 2008
• Moby Dick — Integral Surface, 2008 Moby Dick — Integral Surface, 2008
• Moby Dick — Integral Surface, 2008 Moby Dick — Integral Surface, 2008
• Moby Dick — Integral Surface, 2008 Moby Dick — Integral Surface, 2008
• Moby Dick — Integral Surface, 2008 Moby Dick — Integral Surface, 2008
• Moby Dick — Bianco, 2012 Moby Dick — Bianco, 2012
• Moby Dick, 1987 Moby Dick, 1987
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