Iwona Rozbiewska / Hedrokonstrukt / within the artist residency

Iwona Rozbiewska
Hedrokonstrukt
within the artist residency
Curated by Weronika Teplicka

 

Opening
22.06.2022 / 5 p.m.

Exhibition
23 – 28.06.2022
Centre for Creative Activities in Ustka / Zaruskiego 1a

 

The “Hedrokonstrukt” is a combination of the fragments of two words that aptly describe my works. Both polyhedron and construct are things that are well-recognized in my works, and the element that connects all the works of art that seem so different is the thread of the spiral. More than that, given my current focus on the theme of the idyll, and the timeliness of this theme, I explored the topic of utopia, the artificiality, and the inaccessibility of this state. In this work, I wanted only to develop the “utopian” object “Hedrokonstrukt” but, first and foremost, to show the revealing absurd and irony. In the times of continuous development of new technologies, omnipresent artificial intelligence, and efforts to achieve vertex of fulfillment, something we strive for and which seems the goal of the contemporary society is, as a matter of fact, a quintessence of artificiality. The result of the research will be the objects and an art installation, which I will show to the local community at the residency exhibition. (Iwona Rozbiewska)

 

“Hedrokonstrukt” is an artistic undertaking carried out by Iwona Rozbiewska as part of her residency at the Centre for Creative Activity in Ustka. In it, the artist continues her search for objects inspired by design, i.e. applied arts, and yet devoid of utilitarian function. Just as the title of the work is a combination of two words – polyhedron and construct (a product of the mind composed of coherent yet complex elements), the artist has created an installation from separate parts and compiled the entire exhibition in the course of its duration.

Rozbiewska works in wood, clay and metal, taking inspiration from objects of everyday use which may appear insignificant at first glance. What she does is extract the essence of these objects and synthesise them in order to transform their concrete forms into abstractions. By doing so, she intends to reflect a moment of suspense, an element on the cusp between two opposite states. She reconfigures her objects for new roles and redefines them by taking away the original properties and giving them new ones. This shift from utilitarian to non-utilitarian functions brings about a reversal of habits and transformation of novel ideas into familiar structures. This change of the familiar order can lead to a “mental trip back in time” which may be likened to various fragments of registered changes of familiar objects that merge into a single structure. Iwona Rozbiewksa creates a vision of viewing the components of the world in a parallel reality.

The structures which consist of loosely attached wooden blocks of different sizes offer the possibility of change, as the objects may become arranged in various constellations. The artist assumes transformations of the components of the exhibition in the course of its duration, thus extending the process of working on the work of art. By adding and subtracting individual elements of structures, the artist looks for their appropriate coordinates in space, at the same time enhancing the performative character of the assumption. The only fixed element of the exhibition is the central, spherical object made of glazed ceramics. By creating a form inspired by a washbasin the artist suggests the dominance of water over architecture. By showing the vessel, she tries to embrace and order the ideas connected with the concept of water. Other elements of the construction function as both an artwork and an object for display. Similarly to the ceramic tiles with the imprints of paving stones in the town of Ustka, the artist’s works also contain the idea of the place where they were created. (Weronika Teplicka)

 

Iwona Rozbiewska – Polish-born contemporary artist. She graduated in sculpture from the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw and Munich. Recently she earned a doctorate in Fine Arts at the Academy of Art in Szczecin. Iwona is a laureate of the Gilbert Bayes Award 2022 with The Royal Society of Sculptors in London. She has obtained several artistic scholarships, grants, and residencies among others in Finland, Argentina, and the Netherlands, as well as from Akademie der Künste in Berlin (2021); Erwin und Gisela von Steiner-Stiftung, Munich (2019/20); SEA Foundation in Tilburg and Mondriaan Fund (2018); Adam Mickiewicz Institute in Warsaw; and Erasmus Scholarship at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Munich (2011/12); Art Scholarship of The Academy of Fine Arts Warsaw, Industrial Design Faculty (2009/10). Her artworks have been exhibited in individual and group shows, domestically and abroad. Currently, she lives and works near Warsaw, and close to Munich.

 

Photos / Krzysztof Tomasik

 

The author received Scholarship
from the Fund for the Support of Creativity the Society of Authors ZAiKS

 

Photos / Krzysztof Tomasik