Fire, earth and air are the contrast to water. (…) The fifth element is man’s ability to fantasize. – Władysław Hasior

Such an ability is definitely characteristic of Antoni Toborowicz, one of the most interesting artists creating art of the so-called borderlands. Nowadays, as our tase is most often shaped by the media, it is worth paying some more attention to an artist who is an individual, who seeks his own way of communication, who observes the world and interprets the natural phenomena. Contact with Toborowicz’s works makes it possible to comprehend how rich can our imagination be and what great creative opportunities does it offer. This may be seen, for instance, in the materials the sculptor uses. Those include the natural shapes of wood, wicker, leather, fur, sheet metal and even the Jurassic stone.
The works presented form a world of fantasy. In it, we can admire the mysterious, almost fairy-tale creatures: slender angels, subtle nymphs, ethereal fauns, animals captured in a fascinating, nonobvious way. The viewer may admire pegasi, slimlegged fawns, colourful fish and birds. A group of sculptures interpreting the current problems of all of us, i.e. “Coronaviruses”, shown metaphorically in the form of twisted figures, often with human faces, is equally impressive. The exhibits captivate the viewers with their form, expression and great imagination, in a way inviting them to the world of fairy tales.
The exhibition displays sculptures created in the 1980s and 1990s as well as those from the early 21st century. The works come from the collections of the Ethnography Department of Muzeum Śląskie in Katowice as well as from Antoni Toborowicz’s private collections.

Antoni Toborowicz was born in 1941 in Wola Libertowska. He lives, works and runs his own gallery and the Museum of Crosses and Wayside Shrines in a house he designed himself. Apart from sacred sculptures, he creates fanciful animals, flowers, creatures from the world of fairy tales. The works are colourfully completed by the artist’s daughter Weronika Witkowska, a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow. Moreover, Antoni Toborowicz deals with xylography as well as design and interior decoration of houses and churches. He has received numerous awards. His works may be found in private and museum collections (including those of Muzeum Śląskie in Katowice, the National Ethnographic Museum in Warsaw, the Ethnographic Museum in Toruń and the Ethnographic Museum in Krakow).

Curator: Małgorzata Paul Aranżacja plastyczna
Artistic arrangement: Mariusz Paluchiewicz
Temporary exhibition
6.11.2020–28.02.2021
Muzeum Śląskie w Katowicach
ul. T. Dobrowolskiego 1 / Carpentry workshop building