JAN KUCZ

Jan Kucz was born on June 10, 1936 in Zarzecz. He began his formal art education at the High School of Visual Arts and Technology in Bielsko-Biała, graduating in 1955. Six years later, he began studying at the Department of Sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, in the studio of Professor Franciszek Strynkiewicz. He took on various positions, successfully intertwining artistic activity with academic work. At his Alma Mater, he led the sculpture studio, held the position of pro-rector, and became a professor in 1989. He also taught in the painting studio at the European Academy of Arts in Warsaw. He participated in numerous competitions for monument projects - many of which he won, while also implementing his own ideas - such as the Jan Kochanowski Monument in Radom and the Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski Monument in Czestochowa. He was a member of the Rekonesans group. He belonged to the Association of Polish Artists. He held honorable positions - including member of the Art Council of Higher Education of the Ministry of Culture and Art. His work can be described as new realism. Kucz certainly operated perfectly with the traditional sculpting technique, but he did not stop there, which proves the craftsmanship of his art. He composed his sculptures using different techniques, from a variety of materials - bronze, ceramics, fabric, and even paper, earth, tar paper, or asphalt. He often combined these elements into a single object or arrangement, as evidenced by the installation presented at the 40th Venice Art Biennale in 1982 or the The bipolar. In a unique way Kucz referred to Polish culture - he made allusions to Christianity (Prayer for a thread, The Hunger), in the face of the need to deal with a painful memory (White -red) and in view of the need to mend social divisions (Our democracy). The artist's sculptures betray a fascination with man, the human body (Szyjący, W niedzielne popołudnie, Automobilista), a common motif remains faces, heads (Pajac, Epigro, Głowa Milesa Davisa, Szwaczka). In 2005, he was awarded the Officer's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta. His impressive artistic and pedagogical activities were reflected in the awarding of the Golden Cross of Merit. Jan Kucz passed away on September 14, 2021, in Warsaw.