V. The Pope // Olaf Brzeski (photo: Karol Krukowski)
cognitive curiosity, wisdom, hierarchy, teaching and learning, humility, inner sage
The Pope card is symbolic of the personification of the inner sage, who stands confidently in his authority and experience, unafraid to go out into the world and even take responsibility for his students. He teaches acceptance and understanding for those less mature than us. He emphasizes the formative as well as the inspirational role of tradition and hierarchy. It carries a dual message of not giving up autonomy, and of humility towards the teacher. This is a card for people who like to systematize knowledge. It may indicate the need to find a guide. The illustration of the archetype created by Olaf Brzeski clearly shows: there is enough butter on your slice for you to share. If you don't stay sensible, indigestion awaits you. The rising cloud of fat travesties the traditional medium of sculpture, its shape resembling the towering figures of popes from tarot cards, colorful pictures from the devotional section, or roadside statues. The familiarity of this motif and the butter used in the work can be treated as a peculiar commentary to Polish culture, in which the word “pope” is associated with only one person.
Olaf Brzeski (born 1975) - sculptor, draftsman, author of installations and films. He works with surrealism and the grotesque. In 1994-1995, he studied at the Faculty of Architecture at Wrocław University of Technology, and from 1995 at the Faculty of Sculpture of the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław. He defended his diploma work in sculpture in 2000 in the studio of Prof. Leon Podsiadły. In 2009, he was nominated for the "Views" competition (Deutsche Bank Foundation Award) organized by the Zachęta National Gallery of Art in Warsaw. Nominated for the Paszport Polityki award in 2013. Three-time scholarship holder of the Ministry of Culture, in 2014-2015 scholarship holder of Kunstlerhouse Bethanien in Berlin and ISCP in New York. His works have been exhibited in Poland and abroad in dozens of solo exhibitions, such as Adventure at Raster Gallery in Warsaw (2020), Once Upon A Time In Iran at KAAF Institute in Tehran (2019), Vestibule at Polnisches Institut in Berlin (2015), Megalomania at Raster Gallery in Warsaw (2015), Half at Kunstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin (2015), Tender Gaze at Labirynt Gallery in Lublin (2015), Selfish at the Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle in Warsaw (2013) or Shine at Arsenal Gallery in Bialystok (2013).
Brzeski creates sculptures in metal, ceramics, wood, and other, much less durable materials such as soot or straw. The works begin as drawings and later transform into sculptures or spatial realizations. They are a contemporary reinterpretation of the classical medium which allows one to play with matter. He lives and works in Wrocław.
The Pope card is symbolic of the personification of the inner sage, who stands confidently in his authority and experience, unafraid to go out into the world and even take responsibility for his students. He teaches acceptance and understanding for those less mature than us. He emphasizes the formative as well as the inspirational role of tradition and hierarchy. It carries a dual message of not giving up autonomy, and of humility towards the teacher. This is a card for people who like to systematize knowledge. It may indicate the need to find a guide. The illustration of the archetype created by Olaf Brzeski clearly shows: there is enough butter on your slice for you to share. If you don't stay sensible, indigestion awaits you. The rising cloud of fat travesties the traditional medium of sculpture, its shape resembling the towering figures of popes from tarot cards, colorful pictures from the devotional section, or roadside statues. The familiarity of this motif and the butter used in the work can be treated as a peculiar commentary to Polish culture, in which the word “pope” is associated with only one person.
Olaf Brzeski (born 1975) - sculptor, draftsman, author of installations and films. He works with surrealism and the grotesque. In 1994-1995, he studied at the Faculty of Architecture at Wrocław University of Technology, and from 1995 at the Faculty of Sculpture of the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław. He defended his diploma work in sculpture in 2000 in the studio of Prof. Leon Podsiadły. In 2009, he was nominated for the "Views" competition (Deutsche Bank Foundation Award) organized by the Zachęta National Gallery of Art in Warsaw. Nominated for the Paszport Polityki award in 2013. Three-time scholarship holder of the Ministry of Culture, in 2014-2015 scholarship holder of Kunstlerhouse Bethanien in Berlin and ISCP in New York. His works have been exhibited in Poland and abroad in dozens of solo exhibitions, such as Adventure at Raster Gallery in Warsaw (2020), Once Upon A Time In Iran at KAAF Institute in Tehran (2019), Vestibule at Polnisches Institut in Berlin (2015), Megalomania at Raster Gallery in Warsaw (2015), Half at Kunstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin (2015), Tender Gaze at Labirynt Gallery in Lublin (2015), Selfish at the Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle in Warsaw (2013) or Shine at Arsenal Gallery in Bialystok (2013).
Brzeski creates sculptures in metal, ceramics, wood, and other, much less durable materials such as soot or straw. The works begin as drawings and later transform into sculptures or spatial realizations. They are a contemporary reinterpretation of the classical medium which allows one to play with matter. He lives and works in Wrocław.