Jump to content

Igor Mitoraj

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Igor Mitoraj
Jerzy Mitoraj
Mitoraj in 2014
Born
Jerzy Manika

(1944-03-26)26 March 1944
Oederan,Germany
Died6 October 2014(2014-10-06)(aged 70)
Paris,France
Resting placePietrasanta,Italy
NationalityPolish
EducationKraków Academy of Art,Beaux-Arts de Paris
Known forSculpture
Notable workLuci di Nara
Eros Bendato
Héros de Lumière
AwardsMedal for Merit to Culture - Gloria Artis,Order of Polonia Restituta
ElectedDoctor Honoris CausaofJan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts

Igor Mitoraj(Polish pronunciation:[ˈiɡɔr miˈtɔraj];26 March 1944 – 6 October 2014), born Jerzy Manika, was aPolishartist and monumental sculptor.[1]Known for his fragmented sculptures of the human body often created as large-scale installations in public places. His work is internationally exhibited, mainly in Europe.[2][3]

Biography

[edit]

Mitoraj was born on 26 March 1944 inOederan,Germany.His Polish mother, Zofia Manika, was aforced labourer,while his father was aFrench Foreign Legionofficer of Polish extraction held as aPOW.[4][5]His parents' relationship was only fleeting and he returned with his mother to Poland after the end ofWorld War II.He spent his childhood years in his grandparents' village ofGrojec.When his mother married, both she and her son adopted the family name of the husband, Czesław Mitoraj. The surname in Polish happens to be a concatenation of the words for 'myth' and 'paradise'. He would later change his birth forename, 'Jerzy' (George) to "Igor" when he moved to France. He graduated from secondary art school inBielsko-Białaand in 1963 entered theKraków Academy of Artto study painting underTadeusz Kantor.While a student he had several joint exhibitions, and held his first solo show in 1967 at theKrzysztofory GalleryinPoland.It seems doubtful that he graduated after only two years since in 1968, despite travel restrictions placed on ordinary people by the then Communist regime, he was somehow able to move toParis,partly to seek out his biological father whom he failed to meet, and to continue his art studies at theÉcole Supérieur des Beaux-Arts.

In the early 1970s he became fascinated byAztecart and culture, spending a year painting and travelling aroundMexico.The experience led him to take up sculpture. He returned to Paris in 1974 and two years later he had another solo exhibition at theLa Hunegallery, when he exhibited his first sculptural work. The success of the show persuaded him to develop as a sculptor.

Having previously worked withterracottaandbronze,a trip toCarrara,Italyin 1979, inspired him to use marble as his primary medium and in 1983 he set up a studio inPietrasantanearCarrarainItaly.In 2006, he was commissioned to create new bronze doors and a statue ofJohn the Baptistfor the basilica ofSanta Maria degli AngeliinRome.

In 2003, he returned to Poland. In 2005, he received the Golden Medal ofMedal for Merit to Culture - Gloria Artis[6]In 2012, he was awarded the Commander's Cross of theOrder of Polonia Restituta.[7] Mitoraj died in a Paris hospital and was buried in Pietrasanta where he had kept a studio for many years.

In 2016, Mitoraj's works were exhibited inPompei,Italy. The Italian culture minister Stefano Contini announced that the artist's sculpture entitled "Daedalus" would remain in Pompeii permanently as a gift to Italy.[8]

Style

[edit]

Mitoraj's sculptural style is based on theclassicaltradition with its focus on the well modelled torso. However, Mitoraj introduced apost-moderntwist with ostentatiously truncated limbs, emphasising the damage sustained by many authentic classical sculptures. Often his works aim to address the attributes of the human body, its beauty and fragility, its suffering as well as deeper aspects of human nature, which with the passing of time undergo degeneration.[9]Some art critics have likened his work toKitsch.[10]

[edit]
  • Eros Bendato (Eros Bound) (bronze), 1999, exhibition in Kraków, Poland, 2003
    Eros Bendato (Eros Bound)(bronze), 1999, exhibition inKraków,Poland,2003
  • Gambe Alate (bronze), 2002.
    Gambe Alate(bronze), 2002.
  • Héros de Lumière, Carrara marble (1986) at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park
    Héros de Lumière,Carrara marble(1986) at theYorkshire Sculpture Park
  • Luci di Nara on the Beeld boulevard, Scheveningen, the Netherlands.
    Luci di Naraon the Beeld boulevard, Scheveningen, the Netherlands.
  • Centurione I, 1987, Bamberg, Germany.
    Centurione I,1987,Bamberg,Germany.
  • Valle Dei Templi, Agrigento
    Valle Dei Templi, Agrigento
  • Centauro, Forum of Pompeii, Pompeii, Italy.
    Centauro,Forum of Pompeii,Pompeii,Italy.
  • Centurione I. 1987. Bronze. Columbus Courtyard, Canary Wharf, London.
    Centurione I. 1987. Bronze. Columbus Courtyard,Canary Wharf,London.
  • Centauro. 1984. Bronze. Montgomery Square, Canary Wharf, London.
    Centauro. 1984. Bronze. Montgomery Square,Canary Wharf,London.
  • Testa Addormentata, bronze, 1983, located at Bank Street, outside West Wintergarden, Canary Wharf, London, Great Britain.
    Testa Addormentata, bronze, 1983, located at Bank Street, outside West Wintergarden,Canary Wharf,London,Great Britain.

References

[edit]
  1. ^Masters, Christopher (17 October 2014)."Igor Mitoraj obituary".The Guardian.
  2. ^"Igor Mitoraj".Retrieved2020-05-06.
  3. ^"Igor Mitoraj".Retrieved2020-05-06.
  4. ^Mitoraj, the spell of Gorgon.National Museum, Warsaw. 2003. p. 10.ISBN978-83-88848-0-63.
  5. ^Paltenghi, Barbara; Chiappini, Rudy (2002).Igor Mitoraj.Skira. p. 124.
  6. ^wiadomości.wp.pl (2005-10-05)."Medal Gloria Artis dla twórców i działaczy kultury - Wiadomości - WP.PL"(in Polish). Wiadomosci.wp.pl. Archived fromthe originalon 2013-10-03.Retrieved2013-05-28.
  7. ^"Odznaczenia z okazji Święta 3 Maja / Ordery i odznaczenia / Aktualności / Oficjalna strona Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej"(in Polish). Prezydent.pl. Archived fromthe originalon 2013-09-13.Retrieved2013-05-28.
  8. ^"Polish sculptor's" Daedalus "a permanent addition to Pompeii".poland.pl.Retrieved18 May2023.
  9. ^"With his mammoth sculptures of fragmented bodies expressing human suffering, Igor Mitoraj was in a class of his own".Retrieved2019-09-21.
  10. ^Howorus-Czajka, Magdalena (2018)."Broken heroes...Kitsch or art? Reception of Igor Mitoraj's works".Roczniki Humanistyczne.Poland.Retrieved18 October2024.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related toIgor Mitoraj.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Igor_Mitoraj&oldid=1253838133"