POLA (English: fields) is a serie of ceramic artworks inspired by the abstract world of op-art and the ceramic monumental art of the modernism era.

Ceramic tile compositions combine vibrant colors with spatial patterns. Light plays on their geometric, convex surfaces. Contrasting textures of glossy and matte glazes, along with the engobe, refers to the sense of touch. Hand-glazed modules captivate with rich hues and depth. Colors accentuate the tiles' geometric shapes. Even the shadows get hues.

There is a joy of creation in these compositions, as well as precision, especially visible in the gradient transitions of glazes, which closely resemble subtle pencil shading. Ceramics, in which colors cannot be seen before firing, and "you use colors that you imagine" (Bolesław Książek), is an activity that requires excellent craftsmanship and painter’s imagination.

In these ceramic artworks, which straddle the boundary between abstraction and figurative painting, we can find echoes of the works of Wojciech Fangor, Fernand Léger, Kazimierz Malevich and Stefan Gierowski. In the idea of the collection - the fascination with the "Wizard of Łysa Góra", ceramicist Bolesław Książek. The Kamionka Cooperative of Folk and Artistic Industry operated in Łysa Góra, which he ran since 1951, produced big scale ceramic compositions for the architecture in cooperation with artists.

Text: Aleksandra Kędziorek

SEE CATALOGUE OF AVAILABLE WORKS: https://www.panijurek.pl/catalogpola2024