2024
sculptural intervention, boulders, agate and quarts geodes

Niedźwiednik’s moraine hills were formed as a result of glacial activity during the Pleistocene era (around 2.6 million to 11.7 thousand years ago). Through glacial movements, vast masses of rock were transported from the north (mainly Scandinavia) and deposited in Pomerania, including around Gdańsk. Such rocks are referred to as erratic boulders, or erratics.

Niedźwiednik’s varied landscape features diverse rock formations. Besides erratics, these include ventifacts and fieldstones. Stone blocks can be found in the Tricity Landscape Park, on the outskirts of the estate, and on hill slopes. They are also visible in developed areas: between blocks of flats, at intersections, and in eye-catching spots such as the welcome sign of the Niedźwiednik Housing Cooperative. Transported from afar by glaciers, these rocks are incomers, immovable observers rooted in the estate’s scenery. Like tourists or pilgrims, the boulders have come a long way to settle in Gdańsk’s Brętowo neighbourhood.

Some of these rocks have naturally emerged from layers of the soil. Others were unearthed during clay excavations or even transported for decorative or symbolic purposes.

Katarzyna Przezwańska is passionate about human interactions with nature – in this case, with minerals. This is not the first time the artist has anthropomorphised non-human entities. In Niedźwiednik, she has fitted boulders with eyes and mouths made of agates and a quartz geode. These personified boulders not only seem to observe passers-by but also share knowledge of their secrets, forever enchanted in stone.

KATARZYNA PRZEZWAŃSKA (b. 1984) is a creator of architectural interventions, installations, and paintings in which she often employs natural materials, such as rocks, minerals, and plants. She is a painting graduate from the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. Her work references nature and architecture – fields she combines in her quest to improve the quality of human life and make her art useful. Przezwańska draws inspiration from vernacular architecture, 20th-century classics, as well as geological phenomena and plant growth processes. She has participated in numerous exhibitions, including at Ujazdowski Castle CCA, the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, the National Museum in Warsaw, Tallinn’s Kunsthalle, and Museum Abteiberg in Mönchengladbach.