49th International Ceramics and Sculpture Symposium in Bolesławiec
Workshop: 3-28 June, 2013
Boleslawiec, Poland
During the Symposium, 16 artists from different corners of the world, i.e. Mexico, the USA, Austria, France, Belarus, Ukraine, Italy, Spain, and Poland weeks will be working for four weeks in three ceramics factories in Bolesławiec - Zakłady Ceramiczne "Bolesławiec" Sp. Z o.o., (Ceramics Factories "Bolesławiec"), "Ceramika Artystyczna" Spółdzielni Rękodzieła Artystycznego ("Artistic Ceramics" of the Artistic Handcraft Cooperative), and in Fabryka Naczyń Kamionkowych "Manufaktura" Sp.J.Smoleńsk&Zwierz (Stoneware Dish Factory "Manufacture"). Moreover, it will be a time of meet-the-author sessions dedicated to the oeuvres of the participants, interactive artistic events, exhibitions, and displays revealing latest trends in ceramics art. After the Symposium, in August, a post-Symposium exhibition will be organised during the 19th Bolesławiec Ceramics Festival. The exhibits will be gathered in a photographic album to promote the artists' work.
The 49th International Ceramics and Sculpture Symposium will be attended by artists-ceramicists:
Maria Eugenia Belden Rangel /Mexico/
Kazimierz Kalkowski /Poland /
Stephanie Young /the USA/
Daniel Wetzelberger /Austria/
Marion Devillers /France/
Hanna Ambrosava /Belarus /
Barbara Falender /Poland /
Kinga Ogórek /Poland /
Larysa Antonova /Ukraine/
Sophie Maslowski /France/
Abdon Zani /Italy/
Władysław Garnik /Poland /
Julien Djedaoua-Innocenti /France /
Marc Iturri Torrellas /Spain /
Mateusz Grobelny /Poland / the Symposium's Commissioner
Krystyna Gay-Kutschenreiter /Poland/ an advisor – an honorary participant of the Symposium
A well-recognized artist and ceramist, Mateusz Grobelny (www.mg-gar.pl), has been appointed as the Commissioner of the Symposium.
On 14 June, the representatives of the town authorities visited the artists and watched their works. The guests included Kornel Filipowicz and Iwona Mandżuk – Dudek, the President's deputies, Agnieszka Gergont, the spokesperson, and Ewa Lijewska-Małachowska, the director of BOK-MCC (the Bolesławiec Community Centre – International Ceramics Centre), with Mateusz Grobelny, the Symposium's Commissioner. They were familiarized with the process of creating unique sculptures and the essentials of forming ceramic body.
On 15 June, in the BOK-MCC conference hall there was a second meeting held, during which the artists from the Symposium presented their artistic oeuvre. We invite all to the next and last meeting with the artists that will take place on 22 June at 5 p.m. The meeting will be devoted to the artistic work of Larysa Antonova from Ukraine, Hanna Ambrosava from Belarus, and Krystyna Gay-Kutschenreiter, Kinga Ogórek, and Władysław Garnik from Poland.
Whereas on 27 June at 6 p.m. the symposium will be officially closed at the BOK-MCC Gallery with a preview of ceramic works exhibition titled "My cities" by a resident of Bolesławiec, Edyta Orlińska.
"3 Worlds" exhibition by the Ceramic Scientific Society of the Academy of Fine Arts (ASP) in Wrocław
On 7 June, at the BOK-MCC Gallery, we had the honour of presenting the artworks of young artists from the Wrocław Ceramic Scientific Society of ASP. The preview exhibition "3 Worlds" was organised as part of the 49th International Ceramics and Sculpture Symposium. The artists were welcomed by the director of BOK-MCC Ewa Lijewska-Małachowska and representatives of the town authorities: Kornel Filipowicz, who is the President's deputy, and Józef Pokładek, the head of the Town Council. Special thanks went to the Bolesławiec ceramics factories, which host the symposium's participants; the institutions were represented by Helena Smoleńska, the director of "Ceramika Artystyczna" Spółdzielni Rękodzieła Artystycznego ("Artistic Ceramics" of the Artistic Handcraft Cooperative), Karol Stasik, the director of Zakłady Ceramiczne "Bolesławiec" (Ceramics Factories "Bolesławiec"), and Małgorzata Smoleńska-Szewczyk and Paweł Zwierz, the owners of Fabryka Naczyń Kamionkowych "Manufaktura" Sp.J.Smoleńsk&Zwierz (Stoneware Dish Factory "Manufacture").
The exhibition showed the works of Karolina Gorczyńska, Ada Orkisz, Weronika Lucińska, Amadeusz Kucharzewski, Dawid Żynda, Kamila Ibrom i Karolina Bodnorz. For the young artists, it was an opportunity to meet with the experts from the symposium and share their experience.
The display shows a new approach of young artists to the classical form of ceramics. The exhibits housed at the BOK-MCC Gallery are the effects of using furnaces like Tongkama, Pikfire, and Raku. The exhibition is open until 22 June. We warmly invite everyone to come and see the exhibition.
A visit to the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław
On Wednesday 5 June, the attendants of the 49th International Ceramics and Sculpture Symposium with the Symposium's Commissioner Mateusz Grobelny visited the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław. The artists learnt about the teaching methods of the Academy, they saw the workrooms of the Glass and Ceramics Faculty, of the Sculpture Faculty, and other studios of the manual arts. The Symposium's participants were much impressed by the Academy's newly opened building and the innovative and diverse capacities of its workrooms, where young artists advance.
The next step of the trip was a visit to the National Museum in Wrocław. Among others, the artists saw an exhibition of modern art, a display of the Silesia Region artworks, and a painting exhibition "From Cranach to Picasso". At the end, the artists could rest and admire the Wrocław Old Town's charms.
The Opening of the Symposium
The attendants of this year's Symposium began their stay in Bolesławiec by visiting three ceramics factories where they will be working. On 4 June they went to Zakłady Ceramiczne "Bolesławiec" (Ceramics Factories "Bolesławiec"),"Ceramika Artystyczna" Spółdzielni Rękodzieła Artystycznego ("Artistic Ceramics" of the Artistic Handcraft Cooperative), and to Fabryka Naczyń Kamionkowych "Manufaktura" (Stoneware Dish Factory "Manufacture"). The artists got acquainted with ceramic bodies and technologies to obtain the end product used in the factories. They made their choice as to the place of work, guided by their ceramic body preferences and their artistic conception and inspirations.
The Symposium's programme
7 June, 6 p.m. / BOK-MCC Gallery/ The official opening of the Symposium. A preview of the "3 Worlds" exhibition by the Ceramic Scientific Society of the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław.
8, 15, and 22 June, 5 p.m. /BOK-MCC conference hall/ Mixed-media presentations on the artworks of the Symposium's attendants.
27 June, 6 p.m. / BOK-MCC Gallery/ The official closing of the Symposium. A preview of ceramics works exhibition "My cities" by Edyta Orlińska.
The International Ceramics and Sculpture Symposium has a 49 years' long tradition. It is one of its kind and the longest annual event in Poland. With the years passing, it has come to be a major event promoting the region that creates an opportunity for artistic dialogue, facilitates establishing professional relationships and cooperation, not only artistic and cultural, but also discovering new technologies in the industry of ceramics. The Symposium successfully promotes the lifework of the artistic circles of exceptional ceramicists–sculptors from Poland and abroad. The recent editions were a chance for young, budding artists, graduates of the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław.
