The exhibition consists of several dozen works, including medals and drawings, which are highly evocative and rich in symbolism referencing Polish history, unified by themes of patriotism and the omnipresent spirit of freedom.
Active for thirty-five years in the United States, Andrzej Pityński is renowned as a remarkable creator of monumental sculptures. Through the themes of his sculptures, he has become an ambassador of Polish history. He has created many monumental monuments, primarily located in the United States, but also in Poland. Pityński’s expressive sculptural work revolves mainly around motifs from Poland’s history. It reflects a sense of dignity, heroism, and the tragedy of the Polish nation’s fate over the centuries. Many of Pityński’s works reference the events of World War II, a particularly significant chapter in history for the artist, as his parents fought in a partisan unit of the Home Army.
The main focus of the currently presented exhibition is World War II, symbolically depicted both through the armed struggle of the Polish people and through the martyrdom of its victims and the crimes of the aggressors. The second theme addressed in the exhibition is the symbolically represented history of Poland. This not only portrays the struggle but also references the roots of the Polish nation. The leitmotif has become the theme of the horseman and his steed.
Complementing the exhibition is a series of twenty-four drawings by the artist, as well as several bronze medals. The monumental monuments, present in the landscapes of American and Polish cities, are shown in a multimedia presentation. The exhibition is accompanied by a catalog.
Andrzej Pityński, born in 1947 in Ulanów to a family with a partisan background, is a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków. He has been sculpting in the United States since 1974 and is a member of the prestigious National Sculpture Society in New York. He is the author of many monumental sculptures, including the “Katyn” monument in New Jersey, the famous “Partyzanci” (Partisans) in Boston, the Blue Army monument in Warsaw, and the widely known relief of the Virgin Mary of the Home Army holding the body of a boy—an insurgent from the Warsaw Uprising of 1944.
