Collection

Olaf Brzeski’s Self-Seeker comprises two parts: a drawing (lithographic print) and a video recording of the creative process. The piece was inspired by a surrealist game the artist played with friends. The purpose of the game was for participants to draw one another without looking at the work in progress. Brzeski found the resulting portraits sufficiently intriguing to use the method in his own art. On film, Brzeski poses for the camera-mirror “in a way he likes himself most”, to quote the artist, and sketches his reflection. The artwork’s style seems oddly familiar, and may bring to mind Albrecht Dürer’s 15th-century Self-Portrait. The drawing shows the ultimate result of Brzeski’s labour: a sketch of an exercise in self-examination.

Creator of sculptures, installations, and videos. He is a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław. While working with assorted media, sculpture remains his main focus. Brzeski keeps testing the boundaries of classic methods applied in this field of art. He creates optical illusions and experiments with material. His ceramic, metal, or wooden sculptures may appear to be drawings on air or in a water-filled aquarium. Sculpture also provides Brzeski a full resource of topics, such as portraits, nudes, model studies, or groups in motion. Nominated for the Polityka Passport Award in 2013. He lives and works in Wrocław.