Description of the composition
The composition, modeled and cast in acrylic resin, consists of a portrait figure of Konrad Swinarski, chairs with drapery concealing a message from the director’s statements or, for example, from the epilogue of Liberation—formally developed in the form of an openwork lace of letters—as well as several chair constructions symbolically concealing the message.
Konrad Swinarski thoroughly analyzed the texts of plays, uncovered their inner meanings, and was able to devote several hours to rehearsing a single line.
The elements of the composition refer to objects used by Swinarski as a stage designer, such as the bed in Liberation. By recalling the custom of covering furniture with sheets (during a household’s absence) and uncovering it for use, the sculpture becomes like a frozen frame of a theatrical performance, while the very gesture of removing the cover alludes to working with the text.
What is significant is the visible absence of seats in the chairs (“thrones”), emphasizing the importance of their construction, as well as the elongated legs placed on the steps of the stairs. The posture of the depicted figure of the Director is modeled after his well-known photographs, showing him in the gesture of bowing to the audience — a bow he practiced deliberately, as his wife recalled. Also characteristic is his favorite sweater — a turtleneck—which provides a pretext for discovering rhythmic tensions in the folds, highlighting the expressiveness of the figure.
The whole piece was intended to be placed at the top of the stairs leading to the Cultural Center in Katowice.
Where did the idea for the project come from?
The Center of Polish Sculpture in Orońsko co-finances the creation of sculptures in public spaces, which became the pretext for preparing, in 2024, a sculptural composition dedicated to Konrad Swinarski for the Katowice City of Gardens cultural institution. The project was not realized. In 2025, the prepared sculpture was to be part of an exhibition dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the director’s death, organized within the framework of the Summer Theatre Garden by the Korez Theatre. Due to a lack of funds, the exhibition will not take place. The sculpture of Konrad Swinarski was handed over to the Bogumił Burzyński Foundation for ŚKiS and presented on the Foundation’s website, as well as on Facebook and Instagram.
