The Totem series ‘Polish Dances’ was the result of a collaboration between two artists, Asia Pietrzyk and Koka Skowronska of Totem Studio Warsaw. In creating the characteristic patterns, the designers were inspired by Zofia Stryjeńska’s ‘Polish Dances’.
The colourful illustrations from the 1920s are back in a new, unobvious version. Their contemporary interpretation was performed by Asia Pietrzyk and Koka Skowrońska. The oberek, mazur, krakowiak and kujawiak dances are reflected in the sculptural interpretation, colours and striped patterns.
This is a collector’s edition. The designers created only 20 totems. Each was hand-painted and has its own unique number. The totems are like a vibrating dance captured in a static solid.
Less than 100 years ago, Zofia Stryjeńska, an outstanding Polish artist, published a series of illustrations entitled “Polish Dances” and our present “Pląsy…” is a visual interpretation of Polish folk dances. Nothing happens by chance in these totems. The diagonal stripes symbolise folk stripes, the wooden bead on top of each Totem is a reference to a string of beads. Therewas also a flower, which can be seen when looking at the totems slightly from above,” says Asia Pietrzyk, the project’s originator.
Koka Skowronska adds, “It was not easy to teach the Totems to ‘dance’. At first, wooden, stiff lumps. Later, with every brushstroke, they took on not only stripes and colours, but also simply life. The static, austere sculpture thus underwent a transformation into a colourful, dynamic and visually swirling object. In addition, a modern presentation of folk motifs that are quite difficult to interpret freshly.” The collection ‘Pląsy Polskie’ premiered on 12 June 2024 at the vernissage at o9.Concept in Warsaw. It is available at Totem Studio Warsaw’s online boutique at totemstudiowarsaw.com.
Zofia Stryjeńska was born in 1891 in Kraków and died in 1976 in Geneva. She became famous for her series ‘Twelve Months’, which was presented at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1925. The series consisted of six paintings, which depicted farm work characteristic of the individual months. Two years later, the painter produced a series of paintings depicting Polish folk dances.
KOKA SKOWROŃSKA is the founder of Totem Studio Warsaw, a visual artist and author of the concept in which Totem takes the form of a domestic sculpture with a given intention. She popularises the art of toteming, which involves building vertical compositions from everyday objects. Her work explores the theme of play and the relationship between objects, focusing particular attention on form, colour and their interplay.
ASIA PIETRZYK works in both illustration and printmaking with a particular focus on concept development. She attaches great importance to the story she tells visually and finds her inspiration in both the present and the distant past. She sees illustrating as interpreting reality, also in a non-obvious way.
photography: Wunderkamera Studio
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