Tomasz GÓRNICKI (1986), Jimi Hendrix from the series: "27"

Black concrete, steel; 39 x 33.5 x 33.5 cm height of pedestal 101 cm
signed, described on the base: HENDRIX "27" / BLACK CONCRETE 1/1 / MOUNTAINS/NIC/KI+
ed. 1/1

Tomasz Górnicki graduated with honors from the Department of Sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw in the studio of Janusz Antoni Pastwa in 2010. He is currently considered one of the most talented sculptors of the young generation. He combines a perfect workshop with classical sculpture and a bold experimental approach to the medium of sculpture. He creates both monumental forms and intimate intimate works. He moves fluidly through various sculptural techniques - stone, bronze, steel, concrete. In his works he addresses the subject of man in relation to the surrounding world, as well as the inner universe of human emotions. He draws attention to the universality of issues related to the human psyche. As he says himself - his works are a kind of personal diary, in which viewers find their own experiences. Tomasz Górnicki reaches for difficult topics, such as alienation, a sense of loss, loneliness or helplessness in the face of existence or oneself. His work features poetic, almost unrealistically floating female and male nudes. The artist took on the challenge of confronting the viewer with the work in public space. Works left "guerrilla-style" in non-obvious places seemed to seduce with their apparent mismatch. They provoked an unexpected and brutal response, raising questions about the condition of society, as well as the role and place of art. The artist was made famous by the first NFT token auction in Poland, where the asking price was outbid 62 times. The last extraordinary powerful and moving Gdansk exhibition "The Core" by Roger Ballen and Tomasz Górnicki, asking the question about the place of man in his own world, the essence of humanity and the meaning of existence, brought the artist critical acclaim.
The sculpture on display is one of five portraits that make up the "27" series, in which Tomasz Górnicki pays a kind of tribute to outstanding figures - artists who died before reaching their 28th birthday, which includes Jimi Hendrix, one of the most important figures in the history of rock music in the world. The theme of loss, sensitivity, beauty and destruction being the price of fame appears here. The tragic fate of the figures is felt in the statuesque dignified, yet simply human faces of the immortalized figures. The question of the price and value of fame remains open. The first exhibition of the series was held on October 31, 2014, the eve of the author's 28th birthday. The "27" series was shown in Poland, in Reykjavik, Iceland, at the Cannes Film Festival in France and Ghent in Belgium.
"A lasting sense of loss is the basic emotion that drives me... and beauty is the equivalent of loss - freezing moments in sculpture is a way of cheating time that I want to preserve for myself and others."
Tomasz Górnicki