XAWERY WOLSKI

Tayloe Piggott Gallery is pleased to announce a solo exhibition featuring the internationally renowned artist Xawery Wolski. On view will be a selection of Wolski’s sculptures from two of his most recent series: Saos and Rebozo. Inspired by the poetry of the natural world, these sculptures are juxtaposed in the exhibition to unite the concepts of the concrete ground beneath us and the infinite possibilities of the sky above. A reception to celebrate the opening will be hosted on Friday, April 13 from 6 to 8pm; all are invited to attend.

The series Saos is represented by two trees cast in bronze; coated with a refined white patina. Wolski’s intention was to capture the soul of a tree, rather then represent its exact physical image. It is hoped that the reduced form would be suggestive of the eternal idea of a tree - making us think of endurance and longevity but also symbolizing and exteriorizing our desire to reach up to the sky. The tree is our link between the safety and immovability of the ground below us, and the promise of the dynamic puzzle of the sky above us. The tree sculptures exude powerful, positive images and create an imaginary landscape in which human sensibility and innate closeness to nature is artistically stimulated and enriched.

The second series of sculptures, Rebozo, are works made in terra-cotta. Inspired by traditional Mexican rebozos (long flat articles of clothing worn to provide shade from the sun or give warmth) that are used in every province of the country. The sculptures represent these unique, protective garments, and each of the works is composed of thousands of handmade terracotta beads of different shapes. Each tiny element - each bead - has been individually made from clay by pressing, tearing, and shaping it by hand. Subsequently beads are fired in the kiln, carefully knotted on strings of different length and then woven together. Each sculpture comes together over countless hours of patient, solitary work, creating a unique final “rebozo” and symbolizing the timeless and contemplative nature of the universe.

Xawery Wolski was born in 1960 in Warsaw, Poland. He left his country, then under the communist regime, in order to continue his studies in Paris in the studio of acclaimed sculptor Cesar. He accomplished his postgraduate studies in the Institut des Hautes Etudes in Paris in 1990. In 1997 he established his studio in Mexico City, where he now continues to work, sharing time with his native country Poland. Wolski has presented over 60 solo shows worldwide, including at the National Gallery of Poland, Zacheta, Museo Carillo Gil, Museo Rufino Tamayo and Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico, National Galerie of Jakarta, Religare Art Center, New Delhi, CECUT Centro de Arte Contemporaneo, Mexico, Diana Lowenstein Gallery, Miami, and The Drawing Center, New York.