Amber in the Museum of the Earth in Warsaw

Amber is a material which possesses a hidden potential of thousands years stopped in time, and… a little bit of magic. About how unique and inspiring the stone is, you can find out by visiting the Museum of the Earth in Warsaw, where two very interesting exhibitions are taking place at that moment.

Amber… is related to so many interesting scientific questions that it can occupy a physicist and a chemist, a geologist and a geographer, a botanist and a zoologist, finally, an archaeologist or a historian of culture.
Marian Raciborski

Grand opening

Amber exhibitions were opened at the Museum of the Earth in Warsaw on June 17. Around the World and Amber Design Meeting, presented original amber jewelry.

The president of STFZ (Goldsmithing Artists’ Association) – Marcin Tyminski and the representative of the Museum of the Earth – Katarzyna Kwiatkowska, in a few words told about what the collaboration between artists from STFZ and the museum looked like when preparing for the Amber Design Meeting. Then the women spoke: Małgorzata Podleśna-Zdunek and Anna Sado, whose attention to detail and professionalism had a big influence on the final shape of the two exhibitions.

It is worth mentioning that for the purposes of the Amber Design Meeting nearly 1 kilogram of amber was donated – the jewelry itself, however, was not only the raw material given by the Warsaw museum, but also from artists’ private collections.

Amber. Around the World

The uniqueness of the exhibition Amber. Around the World was based on two pillars: firstly – leading Polish artists took part in it, who – secondly – used for their works three different types of amber coming from the farthest corners of the world. This is the way Amber. Around the World presents a unique and very modern in the form jewelry made of amber: Dominican, Sumatran and Baltic.

The originator of the project was Janusz Fudała, a collector and lover of amber from the US. When asked about the reason for creating an exhibition with such theme and choice of materials, he says:

These stones are still little known, even though interest in them has increased significantly in recent years. I hope that the exhibition “Amber. Around the World” will contribute to the growth of their popularity. Polish jewelry artists in unique, own way excavated and exposed in their creations hidden beauty of these stones.

On Amber. Around the World we could see the works by: Paweł Kaczyński, Sławomir Fijałkowski, Sława Tchórzewska, Danka Czapnik, Andrzej Kupniewski, Jackek Byczewski, Marcin Tyminski and companies ART7 represented by Wojtek Kalandyk and Maciej Rozenberg

Amber Design Meeting

The exhibition organized by the Goldsmithing Artists’ Association (STFZ) consisted of 74 works, 36 artists of different ages and at different stages of their career. As a result, we could witness a broad, multi-generational image of Polish goldsmiths, presented in one place and time.

The exhibition was accompanied by boards with authors creed enriched with hand-drawn portraits by Hanna Zdanowska. The curator of the exhibition was Małgorzata Podleśna-Zdunek, who had seen to it that the works presented in individual showcases created a coherent and interesting whole. The artists sought to emphasize in their work the natural beauty of amber, dressing it in the frame of their own imagination and workshop skills.

Amber Design Meeting can be seen until September 9 – later, the jewelry will go to the Polish capital of amber: Gdansk.

Hereby is the full list of the artists who took part in the exhibition: Bogumiła and Andrzej Adamscy, Andrzej Bandkowski, Agata Bieńkowska, Jacek Byczewski, Dorota Szymaniak Cenecka, Małgorzata Chruściel-Waniek, Beata Ciesielska, Jolanta Gazda, Krzysztof Gińko, Andrzej Jacyszyn, Zofia and Witold Kozubscy, Jolanta Kupniewska, Andrzej Kupniewski, Cezary Łutowicz, Ewa and Marek Pawłowscy, Andrzej Pacak, Urszula Podbielska-Kowalska, Paweł Marcin Podbielski-Kowalski, Małgorzata Podleśna-Zdunek, Błażej Prokopiuk, Kama Rohn, Wojciech Rygało, Jacek Skrzyński, Magdalena and Tomasz Stajszczak, Justyna Stasiewicz, Kinga Sulej, Rafał Szambelan, Martyna Tejwan, Sonia Tymińska, Marcin Tymiński, Hanna and Jacek Zdanowscy.

The Works by Kinga Sulej

The set of works by Kinga Sulej presented at the exhibition particularly drew my attention. Large, raw amber nuggets, which in places were covered with sea barnacles – had been supplemented by the artist with organic, metal molds, in a rather geometric style. The natural world is a great inspiration for Kinga Sulej – she respects it, bringing from the raw material what is most beautiful.

At the end – a photo received from Kinga Sulej, which brings closer the way of wearing previously mentioned object. Personally I was enchanted by it- and you, can express your own opinions in the comments under this entry.

I encourage you to visit the museum and see it live! Address: Aleja Na Skarpie 20 (building 27), Warsaw.

Sources:
http://www.amber.com.pl/top/item/2368-amber-around-the-world online:18.06.2016
B. Kosmowska – Ceranowicz, Bursztyn w Polsce i na świecie, Warszawa 2012.