Gregory Star, Ein Augenblick
Patinated bronze
Dimensions: 70 x 45 x 32 cm
Edition: 3/6
Signed.
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"Ein Augenblick (German for the twinkling of an eye) is an attempt to capture the continuity of our existence, to stretch the NOW for a little longer, hence the sculpture's forms do not only describe the shapes of the figure, but also the movement. The inspiration for this sculpture came from the reflection on time contained in The Magic Mountain. There, Thomas Mann wonders if it is possible to tell pure time without additional content - he immediately answers himself, saying that it would be a ridiculous task like trying to call a chord held for an hour music. "For storytelling is similar in this to music, in that time inserts it
Jerzy Jarnuszkiewicz also noted this similarity between the most material of the arts - sculpture, and the most abstract - music: "Sculpture is something that is at absolutely different extremes, and which otherwise has everything in common [with music]." On the one hand, for example, one talks about the mass of sound and musical texture, or the principle of combining melodies, and on the other, about the melodicity of the line describing the solid. In addition, a spatial form requires a longer perception than a painting, since we have to view a sculptural realization from all sides. It is impossible to encompass the whole with a single glance, because at least half remains covered. It takes time for things that are initially invisible to appear. Either we are yet to see significant parts of the realization, having previously had some premonitions, or we have in our minds what we have already seen. This is how music, storytelling and sculpture differ from other visual arts, where the whole is revealed to us at first sight. Sculpture has this potential for mystery, the excitement of discovery and the unsatisfaction that comes from the fact that we cannot have the WHOLE before our eyes. In this sense, it resembles our lives, where we constantly turn to what was, or what will be as a result, forgetting that our lives are like the blink of an eye, and the only reality available is now."
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Grzegorz Gwiazda - born in 1984, studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznan, the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw and as a scholarship student at the Accademia di Belle Arte di Brera in Milan. In 2009, he graduated with honors from the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts, defending his master's thesis in Prof. Adam Myjak's sculpture studio. Since 2009, he has been teaching at the Graphics and Sculpture Studio of IEA APS in Warsaw. In 2014, he earned his doctorate at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, and in 2019 he received his postdoctoral degree. Since 2015, he has been teaching at the Barcelona Academy of Art.
He was the recipient of a scholarship from the Minister of Culture and National Heritage in 2008/2009, and also received the ENTRY Initiative scholarship. He is a two-time winner in the international figurative art competition organized by the Fundació de les Arts i els Artistes in Spain (awarded sculptures Behold the Man in 2010 and Bicycle in 2015). In 2018, he received an award from the art magazine Arteon.
Star's realizations can be found in Poland, Spain and China. His works are in many collections, including the permanent collection of the Museu Europeu d'Art Modern in Barcelona.
