Jerzy Fober - artist and sculptor
Contemporary Art Gallery - Skowronscy Art - Works by sculptor Jerzy Fober
Jerzy Fober was born in 1959 in Warsaw. Between 1974 and 1979, he studied at the Antoni Kenar State Secondary School of Fine Arts in Zakopane, and then studied sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw (1979–1984). Antoni Kenar State Secondary School of Fine Arts in Zakopane, and then studied sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw (1979–1984) in the studio of Prof. Stanisław Kulon. In 1984, he obtained a diploma with honours for his work Złożenie do grobu (The Burial). While still a student, in 1982, he co-founded the art group ‘…kim jesteś’ (‘…who are you’) with Andrzej Szarek and Czesław Podleśny, with whom he exhibited until 1990. Since 1986, he has also been actively involved in teaching. In 2000, he was awarded the title of professor of fine arts.
He currently runs the Sculpture Studio at the Institute of Fine Arts in Cieszyn, at the Faculty of Arts and Education Sciences of the University of Silesia in Katowice. From 1996 to 2011, he was a lecturer at the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice, and from 2011 to 2015, he taught at the Academy of Arts in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia.
He is a multiple scholarship holder of the Ministry of Culture and Art (1985, 1987, 1991, 1999, 2004).Jerzy Fober’s most recognisable works include sculptures made of wood and
stone. The artist primarily creates figurative representations, often drawing inspiration from Christian iconography. However, he does not treat it in an illustrative manner – for him, it becomes a tool for addressing universal themes of existence: the need to transcend everyday life, faith, and the experience of mystery.
Sam Fober emphasises his attachment to the freedom and autonomy of the visual arts – understood as a space for conveying content that cannot be expressed directly. His sculptures embody this idea: rooted in the physicality of matter, they simultaneously transcend its boundaries, opening up to the spiritual dimension. In this way, art becomes a bridge between the material and the invisible.
Fober’s works are characterised by economical composition, compact form and formal restraint, which go hand in hand with a wealth of potential meanings. Like the parables to which they can be compared, they are not limited to a single level of meaning. They avoid didacticism and unambiguous interpretations, leaving space for an encounter between the artist’s intention and the individual sensitivity of the viewer.
