Group of six sculptures on the premises of the Mercure/Posejdon hotel

Technique: sculpture, red and grey granite

Dimensions: approx. 200 cm (height with plinths)

Object: The set consists of six granite sculptures in the garden of the Posejdon hotel. The hotel commissioned Alfons Łosowski to make the sculptures in the 1970s. The titles of five are known: “Mandril” and “Meditation” (made of red granite), “Magda”, “Matilda” and “Birth” (made of grey granite). Two of the six sculptures are abstract, while the remaining ones are stylised figures and female heads. The sculptures are placed on granite pedestals (some partially covered with lush vegetation). The author made four wooden sculptures for the hotel within the same period, which were parts of its restaurant’s interior until 1993. These were: “Column” and “Composition” (oak), “Medusa” (elm wood) and “Owls” (chestnut wood). In the 1990s the interior of the hotel underwent numerous renovations, during which the wooden sculptures were removed.

Place: The Posejdon hotel was opened in 1976 as modern three-star accommodation. Currently, it belongs to the Mercure group and the space around it is a public park. Six granite sculptures, in a style characteristic of the author, are set along the alleys. Currently, four of them are partially covered with bushes and ivy.

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: Mercure Hotel

Author of the entry: Kora Kowalska