Façade decoration at 15/19B Ogarna St.

Technique: painting

Object:

One of three historicist façades covering a block of flats built as part of the post-war reconstruction of Gdańsk. In 2015, the façade underwent a major refurbishment under the ‘Gdańskie Fasady OdNowa’ project that aimed to improve the quality of public spaces in Główne Miasto by adding architectural decoration to existing buildings.

The three-axis façade gained decoration in the form of a two-storey painted Twój Salon sign located in the central axis between the first and second storeys.

The decoration of the corner building is on the façade facing Zbytki Street. The intervention field comprises the space of a standing rectangle, spanning from the frieze above the arcade to the frieze under eaves in the southern part of the exterior. The painting work shows, in an illusionistic manner, golden gears emerging from a dark background, referring to the Gdańsk watchmaking traditions. An inscription Tomasz Kucharski/ Kamil Lisek/ 2015 is placed in the lower left corner of the composition. The façade from Ogarna Street is topped with a triangular pediment, the building is situated ridge to ridge in relation to Zbytki Street.

Place:

The buildings are in an area designated as a heritage site. They form part of the historic urban layout of the city of Gdańsk. Ogarna Street was destroyed in 1945 during the war. It was rebuilt on the basis of the so-called Zachwatowicz plan that envisaged the reconstruction of historical forms, which was only feasible in the form of a workers’ housing estate. The erected block of flats was covered by a historicist façade screen. The buildings thus created were the result of combining two houses into a complex with a common staircase, an entrance from the courtyard and an even top line of windows emphasising the block-like nature of the premise. The elevations were not completed with architectural decoration.

Information about the author:

Tomasz Kucharski graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk. He presented his graduation work with honours in 2007 in the painting studio of Professor Maciej Świeszewski, with an annex to the diploma in drawing under the direction of Professor Maria Targońska. Since 2016, he has been teaching at the Faculty of Painting of the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk as part of the ‘Technology Laboratory’. His works can be found in the collections of the National Museum in Gdańsk and the State Art Gallery in Sopot.

Condition of the object: good

Owner/guardian: “Attyka” real estate management

Author of the entry: Noemi Etush