Art and stories hidden in wood – an exhibition of works by Artur Szołdra at Domoteka in Warsaw

19/11/2024

A table top made of planks that were part of a barn in an old farmhouse. A sideboard made from the doors of an old cottage from Podlasie. In a word, utilitarian furniture with a real and unique history that is the Retrowood showroom. And among this unique furniture, sculptures by one of the best contemporary sculptors, working in the spirit of magical realism, Artur Soldra. All this from November 15 this year. will be on display at the Domoteka Design Center in Warsaw at ul. Malbork 41.

I look at the world through the keyhole

Until a few years ago, he took his works to the attic, but recently his sculpture “Regina” was auctioned for more than PLN 50,000 at DESA UNICUM, one of Poland’s largest auction houses. The story of Artur Szołdra – a self-taught sculptor from Ustroń Śląski – is somewhat reminiscent of the case of Wilhelm Sasnal. The painter’s paintings as recently as 20 years ago were worth PLN 1,000-2,000, to reach a price of PLN 1,000,000 at auction at Christie’s and Sotheby’s auction houses in New York in 2007. Artur Szołdra has every predisposition to become, like Sasnal, a showcase of Polish art in the world. Now his sculptures will be on display at Warsaw’s Domoteka.

Keyhole

The art created by Artur Szołdra is a world he looks into through the keyhole. This hole or the key itself is a frequent motif accompanying his sculptures. It’s a bit like peeping into human emotions, behavior, because at the center of the artist’s interest is always a person. Sad, thoughtful, cheerful he or she.

– Sometimes I take a piece of wood in my hand and suddenly a face arises, because somewhere I met someone whose look was so special that it stuck in my memory. The sculpture itself is created fairly quickly, but that is the physical part of making it. Sometimes it is preceded by long moments of immersion in thought, creating the most appropriate concept. I can sculpt a face in fifteen minutes, but it takes much longer to realize what expression it should have – says the artist.

What else?

When asked what plans Artur Soldra has for the future, the answer is disarmingly frank:

– I don’t plan anything even a month ahead. Life goes on regardless of any plans and I adapt to it. Sometimes, however, there is an artistic plan. So it was with the “mirror of the soul” – “speculum anima”, where the eye is that mirror. This project I think I got … from the Mountain. At first I doubted whether anything would come out of it, but I started doing various calculations and things began to clear up. It is a near-perfect reconstruction of the real eye along with its color. I mount it in a special rack. The light comes in from behind, bounces off the center, then passes through the birth constellation, which each of us has. Ultimately, it is the light that illuminates the iris and captures that one, unique and distinctive twinkle in each of our eyes. This is one of the few plans I had to carry out. The rest is the great unknown and the surprise that each day provides.

Artur Szołdra allowed the world interested in art to finally get to know his work. The auction at DESA UNICUM proved that Soldra’s sculptures are of great interest. The last four years have seen twenty solo exhibitions and twelve group exhibitions, among others. in the Skay Tower in Wroclaw, in Warsaw at DESSA UNICUM, Praga KONESER Center, Tyskie Tichauer, SqArt Bytom, Resursa Obywatelska in Radom or the CEKUŚ Museum of Silesian Culture in Nakło Sląskie. This time Warsaw again. His presence at Domoteka in Warsaw is no coincidence. This is because Artur Szołdra’s sculptures will be accompanied by unusual wooden furniture with a history.

Furniture with a history

In the borderlands of Poland, it is not uncommon to see old country cottages or wooden farm buildings. Not all of these objects are historic, but each has its own history and is made of excellent quality wood. When Artur Kalinowski, the company’s founder, unveiled his first products in the form of wooden picture frames or clocks in 2007, he realized an idea that has become a hallmark of Retrowood. The material for modern and designer products is carefully selected wood that has been naturally shaped by time. Each piece of furniture comes with a certificate of origin of the wood, based on which you can spin a true or somewhat fictionalized history of it. If it is said that some items have a soul, then Retrowood products certainly belong to this group.

At Warsaw’s Retrowood showroom in Domoteka, this out-of-the-box, original and unique furniture will now fill the space along with sculptures by Artur Szołdra. His works, inspired by nature and made of wood, perfectly match the company’s philosophy, combining art with an ecological approach to raw materials.

– The exhibition at Domoteka in Warsaw is an important event in the history of Retrowood for us. We want our customers not only to be able to see and touch the stories contained in wood with their own eyes, but also to enter the world of art, where wood is the most important material – says Joanna Daniluk, CEO of Retrowood.

It’s worth finding the time and visiting Domoteka in Warsaw to discover the true beauty hidden in wood. The one from which furniture is made, having a unique and certified history. But also in the one that the sculptor, the artist turned into a real work of art.

We invite you to visit the Retrowood showroom in Domoteka at ul. Malborska 41 in Warsaw to visit the exhibition from November 15 to December 31, 2024.