MOVED / Mateusz Sikora

Artist: Mateusz Sikora

Venue: Galeria -1

Date: 7.10 - 25.10.2015

Mateusz Sikora is a graduate of the Faculty of Sculpture in the Academy of Fine Arts in Melbourne, Australia. His works have been shown in individual exhibition in various cities, including Berlin, Stockholm, Melbourne, and several times in Warsaw. He has participated in several collective exhibitions in Australia, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, and Poland. Holder of the laureate of "Yesterday and Today" Gold Medal (ZAR Gallery, 2003), the VCA Encouragement Award (Melbourne, 1993) and the Friends of the VCA Encouragement Award (Melbourne, 1992), he works in Cracow and Warsaw. He is the son of the photographer Tomasz Sikora, grandson of the painter Joanna Korecka-Sikora and Stanisław Sikora, the sculptor.

„MOVED” is the next phase after „THAW”, simultaneously being part of a cycle that has the theme, “Man, the sensitive being, in movement”. „THAW” was shown as the beginning of life, of freedom and movement, whilst at the same time being the change that imposes this movement. Through falling and defeat, but also through rising up and success. “THAW” dealt with transformation from stillness and ossification through to movement and chaotic flowing. „MOVED” is an attempt to capture this very first moment, the birth of an impulse to movement. It is the head that becomes the benchmark: the head as the space of mind in which the body begins to be active. What is contemplated here is the influence of the state of mind on the quality, strength and expression of the movement. The mind, taking control, judges and checks. Receiving negative impulses from the outside, the mind is reflected in a grimace, in clenched teeth and subsequently stiffening of the whole body. However, when the surroundings are positive, the body settles in a natural, elastic state, searching for a new path. Theses moved, open, authentic and sensitive heads are most important here. They are capable of expanding the imagination further; the viewer can imagine and thus create his/her own version of the movement of the rest of the invisible body. Being moved in the space of mind is many times more intense than being moved physically. It is through the head that thought brings emotions to the body. Here the head sculptures are under the imaginary influence of the animated mind, which causes unrestricted, unfettered movement of the body. It is authentic in nature, regardless of what it is. The process of creating these sculptures began with first making three dimensional sketches in a compressed version of polystyrene, so called “foam”. The lightness of this material allows for a quick notation of the desired movement into a final form and size. The transfer of the foam prototypes into steel gave them weight. This an analogous to movement gaining heaviness under the influence of emotions. The final stage involved hand “scratching” the welded sculptures with large grit sandpaper. This eliminates the natural coolness that steel evokes and gives a sense of softness. All the stages of creating the sculptures of this “MOVED” series symbolize man’s mental and physical processes striving for harmony. Mateusz Sikora