Daniel Gralath

Technique: granite sculpture

Dimensions: –

Object: Iwona Jurkiewiczs’s sculpture of Daniel Gralath forms part of the “Great Citizens of Gdańsk” section of the Gdańsk Open-Air Sculpture Gallery. It was created in 2008 during the Kashubian Granite Sculpture Plein-Air, which took place in the Kashubian Ethnographic Park in Wdzydze Kiszewskie. The open-air workshop was attended by 11 artists representing a generation of masters and a generation of students. All of them were asked to depict famous inhabitants of Gdańsk in granite. A total of 11 sculptures were produced and subsequently placed in Gdańsk’s Ronald Reagan Park. At present, the gallery is composed of ten works, one of them incomplete; Bente Kluge’s statue of Lech Wałęsa has disappeared.

Iwona Jurkiewicz decided to carve the figure of Daniel Gralath, the Gdańsk scholar, mayor and initiator of the foundation of the Great Linden Avenue (now Zwycięstwa Avenue). The sculptural portrait of the Gdańsk scientist was placed on a plinth. It is made of pink granite and offers a simplified depiction of Gralath’s facial features, with a delicate outline of the hairline and facial elements. As the artist emphasizes, form is of great importance to her, and when working with stone, she tries to bring out its colour to match the sculpted form. This can be seen very well in Gralath’s sculpture, which is characterized by great delicacy and visible respect for the material from which it is made. The sculpture is worked on all sides.

Place: The “Great Citizens of Gdańsk” Open-Air Sculpture Gallery is located in the park named after President Ronald Reagan, an honorary citizen of Gdańsk. The gallery may be found in the part of the park situated in the Przymorze Wielkie neighbourhood. The 85 ha park stretches along the coastal belt of Gdańsk, encompassing the districts of Przymorze Wielkie, the western part of Brzeźno and the eastern part of the Żabianka-Wejhera-Jelitkowo-Tysiąclecia quarter. This area used to be occupied by temporary allotment gardens and wasteland. The plan to develop the seaside area for recreational purposes was drawn up in 2001 and implemented in stages until 2014. In addition to areas where one can relax, engage in physical activity or make a bonfire, the park was diversified with outflow ponds with living shorelines and nesting islands for waterbirds. In 2008, the Ronald Reagan Park in Gdańsk received a distinction from the Society of Polish Town Planners (TUP), which recognized it as the best managed green space in Poland.

Information about the author: Iwona Jurkiewicz (b. 1983 in Zamość) is a sculptor, educator, open-air theatre actor and stone sculpture conservator in Gdańsk. She studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk, graduating from Prof. Sławoj Ostrowski’s studio with a major in ceramic art from Prof. Teresa Klaman’s studio. Jurkiewicz has taken part in numerous plein-airs, exhibitions and competitions.

Condition of the object: no remarks

Owner/guardian: Gdańsk Community Foundation

Author of the entry: Dorota Kucharczyk