Old Vessels

"Old Vessels" – Sebastian Pietkiewicz
ul. Skałeczna 5, Kraków – 5.10.2017 – 30.11.2017

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"Old Vessels" – Sebastian Pietkiewicz

ul. Skałeczna 5, Kraków –  5.10.2017 – 30.11.2017


My grandparents never threw anything out. The scorched and dented enamel pots in which they served us oatmeal; the chipped ceramic mugs from which we drank our first cups of tea; the wooden toy cars from which we tore the wheels... They carefully stacked all the worn and useless objects on shelves in their basement. Whenever I visited my grandparents I went down into the basement to see what was new in their “storehouse of curiosities.” I wondered if their custom of putting useless things on the basement shelf was an early symptom of compulsive hoarding. Or perhaps, in storing objects that were a part of their everyday life, they wanted to hold onto the memories that went with them?
 
When my grandparents died, I did not clean out the basement. I borrowed its “treasures” for my designs. I use glass to immortalize the objects that accompanied them in their daily lives. And though for us they have no material value, they hold memories that are sparked in our minds when we rediscover them. Like OLD VESSELS...


SEBASTIAN PIETKIEWICZ
Graduated from the Faculty of Ceramics and Glass at the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław (currently, E. Geppert Academy of Art and Design), Poland, 2003. Postgraduate Stage Space Studies at the Faculty of Interior Architecture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław, 2003.
 
After graduation he worked as designer for several glass factories: the Sudety Crystal Works, Szczytna, Poland; the Glass Factory Ząbkowice, Dąbrowa Górnicza, Poland; the Julia Glassworks, Piechowice, Poland, and the Zawiercie Crystal Factory Ltd., Zawiercie, Poland. Since 2013 he has been working as the main designer at the Julia Glassworks.
 
In collaboration with Leroy Merlin and the Institute of Industrial Design, he designed modular pots as part of the Well-Designed campaign, 2011.
 
He has received Must Have awards for glass collections: the Polish Table, Metropolis, Blanca, and Patchwork wine glasses.
 
He has participated in 3 solo exhibitions in Poland and in over 20 group exhibitions in Poland, the Czech Republic, France, Romania, South Korea, and USA.