A Sunday gathering devoted to the world-famous artist brought up in Grojec near Oświęcim brought up many interesting stories about Igor Mitoraj.
Two days before the 80th anniversary of the master’s birth, in collaboration with the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow, the Remembrance Museum organised an event dedicated to the life and work of the artist.
In welcoming the guests, Museum Director Dorota Mleczko recalled that sculptures by Igor Mitoraj can be found, among other sites, in London, Paris, the United States and Japan. There are few such places in Poland.
“Although Igor Mitoraj is considered among the top contemporary sculptors, in our homeland, by which I mean the smaller and the larger, he is still poorly recognised and still little discovered,” she said.
The discussion with Prof. Czesław Dźwigaj (Academy of Fine Arts, Krakow) and Prof. Jan Tutaj (Academy of Fine Arts, Krakow) was moderated by Agnieszka Stabro, author of a book on Igor Mitoraj.
The artist was also recalled by people who met him at different stages of his life: his cousin Danuta Płonka, Professor Michał Kliś, art restorer and photographer Joanna Chrząszcz, the mayor of Grojec Krzysztof Wolak and the poet and journalist Jan Picheta. Igor Mitoraj died, aged 70, on 6th October 2014 in Paris.
The meeting was accompanied by the opening of a temporary exhibition entitled ‘Discovering Artists of the Land of Oświęcim – Igor Mitoraj’. Among the items donated for the exhibition by 16 people, there are many previously unknown photographs of the artist from private archives, there are books and posters with dedications or sculptures made by the artist. Situated in the main hall, the exhibition is open until the end of April 2024.
The event was held under the honorary patronage of Iwona Gibas, Member of the Board of the Malopolska County. Patronage was also granted by Prof. Andrzej Bednarczyk, Rector of the Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow.
The meeting was broadcast live. You can watch the coverage here:
