Group of six outdoor sculptures by Alfons Łosowski

Technique: sculpture, black, grey, and red granite

Dimensions: from approx. 70 cm to approx. 140 cm (height)

Object: Originally, the group consisted of seven sculptures. Currently six remain, one only partially. The sculptures are: “Abstraction” (granite), “Motherhood” (red granite), “Woman in a dark scarf” and “Portrait of a fisherwoman” (black granite), two sculptures entitled “Composition” (red and grey granite) and “Concord” (grey granite). The sculptures are an example of the author’s distinct style: the form is synthetic and compact, with the chisel’s moves at times drastic, but not destructive, emphasising the structure and roughness of the material. The sculptures’ form fits in with broader trends visible in post-war modernist sculptures, which sometimes sought inspiration from prehistoric works or ethnic art.

Place: The group of outdoor sculptures on Wodopój Street is the only one remaining in its original location. The square was laid out in the 1960s along Wodopój Street, which before the war was lined with timbered houses of the city’s poor. One such house remains to this day. On the west side, the square is enclosed by the Technologist House building, from the north by the Mercure Hotel (formerly Heweliusz), whose hall used to be decorated with three wooden sculptures by Alfons Łosowski. Their current location is unknown.

Information about the author: Alfons Łosowski (04 Jan 1908–27 Jun 1988). Born in Orkiewicze in the Novogrudok region (currently in Belarus). He graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts at the S. Báthory University in Vilnius under the supervision of Prof. Kuna, Mikenas and Aleksandrowicz.

During the war, he was a Home Army soldier of the Vilnius district. After the war, he settled in Gdańsk. Until 1955, he was working on reconstructing sculptures as part of the Gdańsk Old Town restoration. He brought back to life sculptures decorating many façades of the most famous tenement houses, all based on modest, surviving photographic documentation. In 1955, he started independent creative work in his studio at 11/13 Mariacka Street.

He authored several outdoor sculptures within the Gdańsk area, which he donated to the city in 1966, as well as many sculptures in public buildings in Poland, in museums and private collections. Granite and wood were his primary working materials. He created a distinctive style that combined organic form with a natural stone texture.

Condition of the object: good

Owner/guardian: “Abstraction” and “Motherhood” sculptures: deposit of the author’s heirs; others: the city of Gdańsk

Author of the entry: Kora Kowalska