Meaning of figuration in the sculptural work of Barbara Zbrożyna

Abstract

This article is constituted within the meanings of figuration in the work of the 20th century artist Barbara Zbrożyna. The work presents the evolution of her selected sculptural realizations. Figurative works focusing on different themes are presented in chronological order. The text attempts to decipher the meanings, contents, and symbols hidden in her work. The introduction problematizes various aspects of figuration as a starting and ending point for specific conclusions during the analysis of the artist’s work. Historical events that influenced the formation of contemporary female sculpture in Poland were analyzed to decode individual contents, and Barbara Zbrożyna’s work was juxtaposed with the works of post-war sculpture creators, included by Piotr Piotrowski in Meanings of Modernism (1999). This constitutes an attempt to reconstruct the dialogue with the artistic legacy of her predecessors, to which this artist loosely referred while decidedly developing her own artistic language.