Exhibitions

Iwona Staroszczyk

Limited Edition Gallery

I met Professor Antoni Janusz Pastwa on the occasion of the exhibition of his works “Animals and People. Shared Sunshine, Shared Rain” at the Museum of Literature in Warsaw in 2019. We were already having the first tentative discussions about our potential cooperation. Unfortunately, the timing of the pandemic thwarted the plans.

When life returned to normal, the Professor made his presence known again with a high-profile exhibition at the Opera Gallery of the Grand Theater – National Opera in 2022. It was one of those exhibitions that are deeply memorable. At that time, our next meeting was arranged by a mutual friend, Waldemar Górnicki. He believed that something special would be born from this tandem.

For a very long time I wondered what I could do for this class of sculptor to go beyond merely warming myself in His splendor? Antoni Janusz Pastwa is the co-author of the Apollo Quadriga on the front of the Grand Theater – National Opera and many other well-known sculptural realizations, and is the recipient of many awards and honors, including a two-time winner of the Norwid Prize (2002 and 2018) and a recipient of the Gold Medal “Meritorious to Culture Gloria Artis” (2019). He has had exhibitions and has works in the collections of major art and cultural institutions in Poland and abroad. He is a member of the Program Council of the Polish Sculpture Center in Oronsko and has nurtured many outstanding sculptors.

At the same time, Professor Pastwa is a remarkably humble person. He never cared for the fame and honor so much due him. Hence the idea of doing an exhibition to accompany the 20th anniversary of the Warsaw Art Fair was born. This significant anniversary of Poland’s key fair, which is visited annually by 10,000 people: collectors, art lovers and art dealers, is a good excuse to broadly showcase the work of a sculptor considered one of the most important in the history of Polish art.

My proposal to organize an exhibition of Professor Antoni Janusz Pastwa on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Warsaw Art Fair met with understanding and enthusiasm of the Fair’s Program Director, Ms. Kama Zboralska, and the organizers – the Rempex auction house in the persons of Mr. Piotr Lengiewicz and Ms. Katarzyna Marciniak, whom I thank. I would also like to express my gratitude to Mr. Marcin Fedisz of the Opera Gallery of the Grand Theater – National Opera for his invaluable help in creating the exhibition.

The exhibition continues in the spaces of the Warsaw Marriott Hotel, kicking off the celebration of the Artist’s 80th birthday, which falls in 2024.

Professor Pastwa takes a long time to find the right form, His sculptures are created slowly. As a result, there are not many of them. Each of them is deeply thought out, non-accidental, because, thanks to the strength of his character, the artist never wanted to respond to the expectations of the market. The “Form Speaks” exhibition is cross-sectional. It presents objects sculpted in a variety of materials, which were created at several stages of the artist’s career. The exhibition is a rare opportunity to include the Professor’s sculptures in your collections. With it, the art market stands to gain a lot.