Sgraffito on the House of Crafts (Dom Rzemieślnika)

Technique: painting, sgraffito

Dimensions –

Object: The building at 1 Klonowa Street was designed by Stanisław Michel for commercial and service purposes on commission from “Elexmetal” and “Spójnia” cooperatives. The decoration was designed by Ryszard Stryjec, a visual artist known as the “Gdańsk Dürer”, who created it together with Stanisław Michel. The western façade features a stylised letter “R”, repeated five times, symbolising craftsmanship (rzemiosło) as well as abstract decorative elements. The front façade features two stripes of decorations consisting of similar panneaus, copying the rhythm of window openings. Each panneau (a decorative rectangular field) is decorated with an abstract, geometric arrangement of vertical stripes, with nine of them additionally adorned with a centred diamond emblem with the symbol of a craft discipline in the middle (e.g. scissors – symbol of a tailor, shoe – symbol of a shoemaker, leather – symbol of a leather worker). The whole arrangement employs three colours: dark grey, light grey and a shade of light ochre. The process of creating a sgraffito consisted of applying three layers of plaster, each of a different colour, and then using a stylus to cut out patterns in the plaster.

Place: In 1975, the “Elexmetal” crafts cooperative, the “Spójnia” crafts cooperative and non-associated craftsmen decided to build an office, retail and service building for their needs. The architectural design was entrusted to Stanisław Michel, Eng. Arch., a well-known Gdańsk architect (who, in addition to contributing to the reconstruction of Główne Miasto in Gdańsk and designing historically-inspired buildings, is the author of several modernist designs, such as the Olimp residential building in Wrzeszcz). The construction of Dom Rzemiosł (House of Crafts) at 1 Klonowa Street was completed in 1980. In addition to the façade decoration by Ryszard Stryjec, the building was given symbolic metalwork advertising signs designed by the visual artist Dobrochna Michel. Since the 1990s. the building’s façade was gradually covered with advertising banners, while the metalwork was replaced with other types of signage. Only in 2020, thanks to the introduction of the Gdańsk Landscape Resolution, were the unsightly advertisements removed and the artistic decorations unveiled.

About the author: Ryszard Stryjec (born in 1932 in Lipniszki, died in 1997 in Gdańsk). In 1950–52, he studied at the Secondary School of Art Techniques in Gdynia-Orłowo, then, until 1958 he studied painting under Stanisław Teisseyre and Krystyna Łada-Studnicka, and graphic arts under Zygmunt Karolak at the State School of Fine Arts (PWSSP) in Gdańsk (now the Academy of Fine Arts). Between 1955 and 1962, Stryjec collaborated with the “Kadyny” ceramic group led by Hanna Żuławska. In the 1960s, he worked as the graphics editor of the Gdańsk monthly Litery” (Letters), he collaborated with the Pomerania magazine of the Kashubian-Pomeranian Association, as well as the Morskie Publishing House. He mainly did drawings and prints, occasionally ceramics and painting, also large format ones.

Object condition: awaiting renovation

Owner/guardian: “Elexmetal” Metal and Electrotechnical Crafts Cooperative

Author of the entry: Kora Kowalska