Earth sculpture – fountain

Technique: ceramic sculpture

Dimensions: approx. 5 m × 5 m

Object: The object consists of low ceramic tiles arranged in a square and surrounded by similar tiles in a circle. The tiles are placed in a way intended to resemble ground cracked during a drought. A water source was placed at the sculpture’s centre, which was supposed to wash over the slabs like “a spring irrigating thirsty soil”. The sculpture was conceived as a fountain, an art piece introduced to a new housing estate of prefabricated slab buildings, which was intended to give the concrete a warmer look and evoke associations with nature. The object’s colour palette is natural. Unfortunately, the fountain has been closed for over a dozen years due to a dispute between the local parish, on whose land the sculpture is located, and the housing cooperative that has the title to the sculpture. In effect, the sculpture has been deteriorating for many years.

Place: The “Earth” sculpture is situated in the centre of a pedestrian walkway in the Żabianka housing estate. It was designed as part of the estate’s streetscape. Żabianka was the first experimental estate on the Polish coast, where urban planners decided to place works of art between the grey blocks of flats. The “Kadyny” group (Edward Roguszczak, Maria Kuczyńska, Hanna Żuławska, Swietłana Zerling and architect Jacek Krenz) created an innovative project under the name “Ceramics for architecture”. It consisted of a fountain, sculptures and reliefs, as well as 3D and art arrangement of the areas between the buildings (hills, flower beds, Indian villages, playgrounds, etc.). Everything is made of natural materials (clay, wood), which contrast with the dehumanised concrete of prefabricated slab blocks of flats.

Information about the author: Edward Roguszczak (born 13 October 1927 in Siedlemin, died 13 June 1997 in Wdzydze). In 1947–51, he studied at the State Higher School of Fine Arts (PWSSP) in Poznań. He received his diploma from the State Academy of Fine Arts (PWSSP) in Gdańsk, in the studio of Stanisław Teisseyre in 1952. He participated in the reconstruction work on Długa Street in Gdańsk and took active part in bringing back architectural details in Gdańsk’s Główne Miasto. Member of the Kadyny Group, from 1970 a member of AIC. Together with Prof. Hanna Żuławska, he co-created experimental ceramics workshops in Kadyny. It was on Roguszczak’s initiative that a prestigious event of great artistic significance, the International Ceramics Triennial, began to be organised at the BWA in Sopot. The artist came up with the idea and was the spiritus movens behind the International Ceramics Centre, used for studies and creative work, in the historic Gdańsk Orunia quarter. On 6 June 1973, on Roguszczak’s initiative, an international open-air workshop “Ceramics in Architecture”, attended by 40 artists from different parts of Europe, was organised in Kadyny. Its second edition was held a year later. Two large housing estates, Żabianka and Zaspa, were built in Gdańsk at that time, and the workshop participants were tasked with creating an art concept for this new space. During the next plein-air, “Kadyny 76”, the participants were actually preparing their projects for new districts. Over the next few years, designs for developing common spaces (ceramic reliefs, fountains, etc.) were systematically installed in the Żabianka and Zaspa areas, then still under construction. They were designed by entire project teams, including Jacek Krenz and Swietłana Zerling, who shared Edward Roguszczak’s idea: combining ceramics and architecture. Most of the ceramic solutions and ideas in Żabianka were their work. In the late 1970s Roguszczak’s efforts were recognized with the Młyniec Housing Cooperative giving him a sculpture studio in recognition of his work for the Zaspa housing estate. This accelerated his pace of work, which translated into several awards and exhibitions in Poland and abroad. Simultaneously, Roguszczak made every effort to establish a city of artists in Wdzydze. In 1988, the construction of the ceramic kiln was finally completed and the heart of the village began to beat. This is where the artist’s summer studio was built. In 1992, Roguszczak started working with young people from the “Plama” Youth Club in the Zaspa estate in Gdańsk. They jointly conducted outdoor activities, art classes and happenings. A year later, the artist initiated the “Pictures painted with fire” workshops, which are still being held every year at the “Plama” in Zaspa. He is also the spiritual patron of the FETA Festival of Street and Outdoor Theatres, which “Plama” organises to this day.

Condition of the object: partially destroyed, awaiting renovation

Owner/guardian: Żabianka Housing Cooperative/Parish of Our Lady of Fatima

Author of the entry: Kora Kowalska