ART IS RECIPROCITY

 

To simply call him an artist would not suffice. After all, how often do you meet a goldsmith who can play a jazz song, and can tame silver as skillfully as a motorcycle? In his work, he draws inspiration from various corners of the world and objects rich in history. Here is an interview with Andrzej Kupniewski, who has been creating exceptional pieces from amber and silver in the Warsaw Galeria Projekt with his wife Jolanta for more than 25 years.

 

You refer to your designs as ‘wearable art’. What does that mean?

 

This is a phrase that has been with us for quite some time. However, we didn’t coin it ourselves. It originated from Elżbieta Dzikowska’s Jewelry of the world, where the author seeks an answer to the question of how people wear jewelry in various countries and various cultures, as well as what jewelry means to them. Jewelry can instill fear, speak of wealth, present our inner self, expose or just the opposite: protect. Jewelry is art in use. It is integral to the human being.

 

You’ve mentioned Elżbieta Dzikowska. I would like to ask about the designs that you have prepared for her. Her travels and photographs have inspired you to create several dozens of necklaces and rings. Do you remember any of them in particular?

 

To answer this question, I have to reach back to the moment I first met Elżbieta Dzikowska. It was during the ‘Earth from a bird’s eye view’ exhibition at Jerzy Brukwicki’s ‘Pokaz’ Critics’ Gallery. It featured some incredible photos taken during a balloon flight, depicting dried rivers. Through her phenomenal photographs, Dzikowska also focused on the rather horrid issue of the shortage of water in the world. When my wife and I visited the Brukwicki Gallery on a Night of the Museums, we saw something that prompted us to act. It was such an inspiring event and we felt urged to take part in it. That’s how we got to know Elżbieta Dzikowska. She not only showed us around the exhibition, but also asked us to frame 20 rocks she had had back from the time when Tony Halik was still alive.

 

Was that a challenge?

 

A huge one. Designing the entire collection took a year, and resulted in the first 20 necklaces. Every single one of the rocks we used was unique. Every single one had a story. My personal favorite among those necklaces is the one with the coral, which is outstandingly beautiful in itself, unenhanced and authentic. I framed it into a cubic form, which references perfectly to the Elżbieta Dzikowska’s photographs. We have played around with all sorts of cubical arrangements because that particular shape appealed to both Elżbieta, as well as me and my wife. That is significant to me since my wife and I do everything together in our studio: design, discuss, argue and create.

 

What is the process of designing a necklace like that? Does an idea arise immediately upon seeing a given stone?

 

As a rule, we don’t hurry with such pieces, thus paying respect to the stone itself, or to the artist who polished it. Some of the items we received were pre-Columbian, so if only out of respect for history, our hands were shaking. We invariably begin the designing process with a drawing. We examine the stone and outline it in a hundred ways. Later, we work in silver, exactly like in the drawing – silver is ductile and listens to us very obediently.

 

Silver is obedient. You love amber. And what is the most obstinate material you have worked with?

 

This may come as a surprise to you, but it has actually been amber, but in its Dominican form that turned out to quite problematic. Together with John Fudala, we came up with the project ‘Amber around the world’. We invited our colleagues from the milieu of goldsmiths. John Fudala is a traveler who collects interesting amber pieces from around the world. He gave us some samples that we could cut and polish and it turned out that it was not so easy. Polish amber is about 45-50 million years old, while the Dominican kind is 5-7 million years old. Amber this young proved a technological challenge for us to overcome.

 

I imagine challenges get you going. Such was the case with the collection for motorcyclists, which intended to break the mold.

 

Exactly. As part of my diploma work at the Academy of Fine Arts, I decided to create jewelry for subcultures. It caused bemusement, because the subject was not considered very artsy. However, since I ride a motorcycle myself, I insisted on created motorcycle jewelry, which would be suitable for a catwalk, or could be worn on special occasions. This way I wanted to alter the perception of the motorcyclists’ clothing, which is still far from perfect. I created a projection of cubic objects that featured rhythm and power. I also made a film that showed in dynamic terms how one can understand the philosophy of a motorcyclist. I am glad that I was able to push this idea forward in a specific environment where there exists a wide spectrum of artistic possibilities.

 

So what is important in the creation process; especially in the face of challenges?

 

We must certainly be very vigilant and gentle, while creating things of ungentle character, because our jewelry is not subtle. We aim to be distinctive. We create items that feature traces of the tools used, not fully polished, and oxidized in a way that shows an artistic effect of the process. We have recently discovered the range of possibilities that glass offers, and so we added an element to our gray, titanium world, which suddenly made the works shine. And that’s how a new story begins.

 

Glass is your new inspiration?

 

That’s right. The whole story of glass and amber began a year ago, when Zbyszek Kraska, director of Legnica Art Gallery, invited us to make jewelry for the SILVER Festival. That is when we established the Kupniewscy & Art Collective created together with our friends: Magdalena Pejga, who processes glass beautifully; sculptor Darek Szafranski; clothing designer Magdalena Arłukiewicz; and a brilliant photographer, Anton Grosch. Together we created a collection dominated by glass. We wanted to show the delicacy, transparency and translucency. It was more than just a jewelry collection. It was a true fusion of various types of art, which included a collection of clothes, sculptures, photos and film. It is how we define art: to complement one another, to watch, to listen, and to appreciate one another. Art is reciprocity.

 

You speak of reciprocated artistic inspiration. And who do you create your art for? Because it’s not always for other artists.

 

Everything I do, I do, with full awareness, for my wife. Every time, without exception. My wife has always been my muse and my critic. I discuss everything with her. As for my target audience, I consider myself extremely lucky that I do not have to mass produce; something I really dislike. I create for specific people who I need to get to know before I sign up for any project. I also like to create things for group exhibitions. Not everyone likes to do it, but I value the experience as it allows me to see my art as ‘one among…’. I examine where my pieces place; how they work; whether they are energetic or so they rather blend in with the rest. Same thing happens with my music. I play with a few bands. Just like listening to a given piece, in the case of jewelry I’ll have an exhibition and receive information on where I am, whether I was just making noise, or did I interrupt on someone’s solo.

 

Music will also part of the café which you are setting up next to your studio and your store in Galeria Projekt. How did you come up with that?

 

We wanted to pay homage to Warsaw’s history and the Bożena Marki Gallery. There was a grand piano, and a double bass. It hosted concerts and art exhibitions. Most importantly, you would often meet the best jazzmen there; hanging out and playing a casual tune to a glass of wine. We employ a similar principle of combining the many faces of art, which is why we want to continue the work of Bożena Marki. We plan to establish an Art Café which will launch to the wonderful music of Dorota Curyłło and Krzysztof Woliński. Together with them and Marcin Tymiński we have been working on yet another jewelry-related project: The Museum of Contemporary Jewelry. We want it to be a fusion. The Art Café on our part, and a large collection of typically museum-like thinking in the Warsaw Koneser. We will be featuring our great jazzmen. We will be inviting guests like Elżbieta Dzikowska. And at the same time, we will be displaying our artworks in hidden nooks. We don’t want it to be another store. But we want to create a space that encourages people to look for jewelry. Like on a stage singer, because we think that the best statue is a living statue.

 

And the Museum which will complement the café?

 

The museum is our beloved child. It took us and Marcin Tymiński two years to create it and we were delighted to launch it last week with a collective project of our friends. We invited a very considerable group of goldsmiths, which helped to create a permanent museum collection. And that’s how the project Museum of Contemporary Art emerged. We want to stress that it is a project. Not just a just a place we should call a museum. It is a beautiful space where we welcome art and goldsmithery. It’s also a space that Warsaw has been waiting for. We needed a place to be able to display our art at a larger scale. And now we can reinforce the Polish and Warsaw goldsmithery, and promote our favorite material: amber. We want to change its image and show that it can come in extremely contemporary expressions. The Art Cafe and Museum were our dream. We have many friends, and those are wonderful places to spend time with them.