Olaf Brzeski
Shine
“This is a 10-second sketch that I made while staring at the sun until a small round that seemed to be in constant motion emerged from the brightness. Then I repeated this tiny drawing in a 20:1, scale, devoting much more time to it, copying each line in a steel rod.” The author’s comment is very useful here, because without it, it is not immediately clear what the masterfully assembled steel work represents. The title of the piece also gives clues to its visual riddle – brightness, a moment of illumination, something as immaterial and elusive as only light can be. It is a spatial work made after a simple drawing, scribbles made by the artist directly after looking directly at the sun. It seems that Brzeski was trying to preserve that moment, materialize it. What is worth noting, however, is the contrast between a quick sketch and a solid three-dimensional metal object welded together from steel rods.
Brzeski likes to use traditional sculptural materials such as bronze, steel, and ceramics. They impose not only discipline, but also associations with academic art, which Brzeski neutralizes with elements of humour or irony. He attaches great importance to the physicality of his works, the language of matter, and craftsmanship.
Olaf Brzeski (b. 1975) is a sculptor, author of installations, drawings and films. In the years 1994—1995 he studied at the Faculty of Architecture of the Wrocław University of Technology and later (1995—2000) at the Faculty of Sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław. In 2009, he was nominated for the “Views” competition – Awards of the Deutsche Bank Foundation and in 2013 – Polityka’s Passports. He made his debut in 2001 winning the competition for the Orange Alternative monument – he designed a stone dwarf standing on a plinth in the form of a fingertip (Świdnicka Street in Wrocław).
The artist often works in bronze, steel, resins, latex, and ceramics. He usually creates narrative projects that depict a highly distorted reality, immersed in the poetics of the absurd, surreal visions, and nightmares. His objects are hermetic, visually impactful and often elude any attempts at interpretation. “My works are constructed on the basis of associations. It’s like poetry – all its strength lies in bringing the right words together, even if they may be semantically distant and don’t add up to any story at all.” Brzeski’s projects observe the aesthetics of ugliness, are characterized by deformity, destruction, disruption of scale or proportion. Formally, they usually take the form of extended environments. The main theme of his work is the human figure, shown in its physical, psychological, and emotional dimensions.