Since 2010, inside former Zakopane
Promotion Bureau headquaters, and currently in Zakopane Cultural
Center, "Gazduś" was created – a gallery in which
everyone can find something for self or buy gifts for close person.
Regional Zakopane souvenirs, jewellery, authentic everyday objects
made by professional arists and podhalan folk craftsmen. High aristic
quality, large offer of items and accessible prices make our gallery
a one of a kind.
You're welcome!
Gazduś Gallery supports not only local
artists and folk crafsmen from Zakopane and Podhale, but also those
for who Podhale serves as source of inspiration. You can buy both
professional are and artistic handicraft.
Various painting techniques are being
displayed in Gazduś: glass painting, icon scribing, oil, pastel and
watercolor paintings. There are also graphics and drawings. Other
than this, artistic and usable woodworks or ceramics are richly
represented. Figural sculptures adjoin wooden caskets, highlander
bells and wooden shelfs.
Selection of leatherworks is also vast
– ornamented caskets, small souvenirs like bookmarks or unusual
spectacle cases. Additionaly, you can bring Podhale into your house
by buying interior objects in Gazduś: tablecloths, treads, napkins,
embroidered beddings, stained glass, carved clocks. Art enthusiasts
will be delighted by handmade wool caps or gloves and beautiful
jewellery.
GLASS PAINTING
Glass painting is
the most popular paint art in Gazduś. Despite having its roots in
Lower Silesia in XVIII, it is currently mostly connected with folk
art of Podhale. Usually, it was hung in highlander huts. Due to
weather conidtions (halny wind and frost) painting windows were
rather small. However, because of contrastic, vivid colors of those
works, the darkness of highlander housing was brightened and more
comfortable. You could buy glass paintings mostly at the indulgence
or from travelling vendors. The popular themes were religion related,
folk legends and tales or genre scenes like bandit motifs.
Contemporary glass painters are still loyal to this traditional
iconography. It seems like these kinds of subjects are suiting for
medium of glass painting. You can buy glass paintings of many
podhalan artists like Anna Bogucka, Dorota Bujak, Maria Dudek, Zofia
Majerczyk Owczarek, Bożena Doleżuchowicz-Mickiewicz and late Adam
Doleżuchowicz (father) in our gallery.
PAINTING
People engaged with
professional painting will also find valuable oil, aquarel and pastel
paintings in Gazduś. Oil paintings of Zygmunt Kłosowski, son and
grandson of talented painters from Zakopane, are realistic
reproductions of actual landscapes and architectural objects. He
himself speaks about the need to preserve the slowly passing world.
His paintings are available in many galleries and private collections
in Denmark, France, Germany and USA. Wincenty Szczypel uses oil and
pastels to mostly paint portraits and flowers. Pastels are also
important to Beata Zalot, who is not only painter, but also poet and
journalist. On the other hand, Lidia Rosińska's speciality are
drawings. Andrzej Ferenczak displays his icons in Gazduś, and while
they are not associated with podhalan style, they arouse interest of
our guests from eastern border. We can hardly name every single
artist here, but we assure that their works are as much interesting
and valuable. Every art lover might find something noticable here.
SCULPTURES
Aside
from glass painting, wooden sculpture is one of the most noticable
fields of podhalan folk culture. Originally it had sacral aspect,
being mostly simple in form, even primitive, but also extremely
expressive. Often anonymously, the artists prefered religious themes
like Pensive Christ, Mother of God with Child, mourning Pietà
or the Holy Trinity. As of saint figures, Saint Florian, patron of
the firemen, was often picked since he was believed to protect
households from fire hazard. Contemporary folk craftsmen, apart from
traditional, sacral sculptures, also carve lesser sculpts like
highlander figures, wild and domesticated animals and also depictions
of tales of Janosik and his pack of bandits. Currently in Gazduś
bigger and smaller wood figures of Pensive Christ (commonly known as
“świątki”), crosses, chapels with sculptures or glass
paintings, christmas cribs and highlander genre scenes are being
exhibited. Despite their sculptures referencing traditional patterns,
artists like Adam Doleżuchowicz (father), Władysław Łukaszczyk,
Eugeniusz Bogucki, Andrzej Ferenczak and Florian Walkosz already
developed their own, recognizable styles.
Admittedly, there
was no traditional background when it comes to ceramics in Podhale
region. However, both craftsmen and professional artists more and
more often reach for clay to create forms that evoke their wooden
equivalents.
In 2011 for the first time, --- students displayed
their wooden and ceramic sculptures in the gallery. This sparked very
positive feedback, as the works charmed with simplicity and
refreshing art concepts. Its worth checking out since who knows,
maybe there are future artists amongs authors of this exhibition.
VARIETY
Next to artwork in
Gazduś, you can find many beautiful everyday items like wooden and
leather caskets. Ceramic cups nad mugs, bells, hearts, easter eggs or
christmas tree baubles. Angel figures, animals like cats, dogs,
sheeps, rams and birds are very popular among collectors. As for more
unconventional souvenirs from Zakopane, pincushions, pencil cases,
leather bookmarks, spectacle and cellphone cases, small felt purses,
metal staples and bells may satisfy. You can also order wooden
chests, shelfs, sleds, cradles and woolen kilims through Gazduś
Gallery. Finally, something that certainly will grab attention of
women, however even men should take a look at our cabinets. Oryginal
jewellery inspired by podhalan design: chaplets, necklaces, earings,
bracelets, pendants and brooches – this will not only serve as a
beautiful ornament, but also remind you of best times spent in
Zakopane.
Free entrance!
Opening hours
The gallery is open during season (1-31 july) everyday at 9.00 – 17.00 and off season from monday to saturday at 9.00 – 17.00.
Contact
Zakopane Cultural Center – Touristic
Information System of Lesser Poland
Kościeliska 7 st.
34-500
Zakopane
tel. +48 18 20 120 04