(b. 1984 in Gdańsk) is a visual artist who graduated in Intermedia from the Magdalena Abakanowicz University of Arts in Poznań and in Photography from the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk. He also read archaeology and cultural studies at the University of Gdańsk. Currently a DFA student at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków, Błęcki is an author of objects and installations that engage with ecology, sociology, and politics.
Spider, 2022, installation, courtesy of the artist
In childhood, Błęcki’s grandmother taught him the art of making traditional straw ornaments (such as pająki, “spiders,” or łańcuchy, “chains”). What inspires him in folk art is its wealth of forms and complex structures with their meaning. Pająk-style ornaments were originally meant as a token of good luck, a sign of auspiciousness, affluence, and fortune. Błęcki turns towards ecology, drawing on the tradition of building with natural materials, such as straw or wood. His Spiders are a reproducible form that he uses working with local communities. The form exhibited in front of the BWA Gallery is an enlarged copy of a pająk made by the artist’s grandmother.
Venue
BWA Zielona Góra, Al. Niepodległości 19