Józef Gałązka’s artistic practice may be seen as an endless quest for new forms of sculptural expression. Testing the possibilities of selected sculptural techniques and media often means crossing too rigidly defined boundaries between them. But in this respect the artist cannot be regarded as a formalist—his work is deeply immersed in the social dimension and personal history.

In the sculptures from the “Loops” series, Gałązka alludes to drawings by the Łódź-base avant-garde artist Władysław Strzemiński. The characteristic trembling line in Strzemiński’s work expressed his fascination with the physiology of vision, particularly the phenomenon of the afterimage. These shapes, creating organic forms, also appeared in one of his most moving works on the Holocaust, “To My Jewish Friends”.

Gałązka transfers flat forms to spatial projects, while maintaining the fullness of dynamism. Drawing on the aesthetics from the early 20th century appears to be an effort to reach the limits of contemporary abstract form. Can we imagine anything more “modern”?

Bernard Wnuk