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Ewa Pachucka

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Ewa Pachucka
Ewa Pachucka, 2016
Born
Ewa Teresa Jaroszyńska

(1936-02-17)17 February 1936
Died28 July 2020(2020-07-28) (aged 84)
NationalityPolish
OccupationSculptor
Known forCrochet art
Notable workLandscape and Bodies, 77
Parent(s)Stanisław Jaroszyński and Lidia Marynowska

Ewa Pachucka (nee Jaroszyńska) (17 February 1936 – 28 July 2020) was a Polish-Australian sculptor.

Biography

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Pachucka was born in Lublin, Poland on 17 February 1936. She studied visual art in Warsaw at the Lyceum of Plastic arts from 1952 to 1954, then at the Lyceum of Plastic Arts in Lublin (1954–1957), and then studied at the Academy of Fine arts in Łódź from 1957 to 1958, which is known as the historic site of Poland's textile industry.[1]

While studying as an art student, Pachucka was inspired by the abstraction movement, defying traditional Polish Socrealizm (Socialist Realism) art, which was the dominant style at the time in post-World War II Poland.[2]

Pachucka was influenced by renowned Polish experimental textile artist and weaver Jolanta Owidzka, and began to move from painting and printmaking into sculptural and textile works. Pachucka began to experiment with crocheting on a large scale, creating three-dimensional works with string made from hemp and jute rope that she sourced from a local fishermen's shop.

Pachucka married Romek Pachucki in 1969, moving and emigrating with him first to Denmark, and after to Australia in 1970, first living in Sydney, before moving to Hobart in 1976.[3]

Pachucka's arrival to Australia coincided with the revival of fibre arts movement of the 1970s, and her large sculptural weaving work in natural fibers such as hemp, coir and sisal, gained Pachucka major recognition in Australia, Europe and the United States.[4]

Pachucka's first show in Australia was held in 1972, at the Rudy Komon Gallery in Sydney, where she sold nearly the entire collection of crocheted figures on display.[5]

On her own method Pachucka said, "I build forms laboriously with a crochet hook... in this world of ours where 'instant' is 'promoted', art being no exception, I find satisfaction in this technically unaided function".[6]

Pachucka was the only female artist represented[7] in the 1973 exhibition Recent Australian Art at the Art Gallery of New South Wales,[8] with her work Landscape and Bodies (1972),[9] which was purchased by the National Gallery of Australia[9] and displayed in their 2009 exhibition Soft Sculpture.[10]

One of Pachucka's major works is the multi-part installation titled Arcadia: Landscape and Bodies (1972–1977),[11] which was created over a four-year period, first being displayed at the Rudy Komon Gallery in Sydney in November 1977, then later being acquired and exhibited at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in 1978.[11] The work has been described as "a remarkable tour de force," by Australian art critic Elwyn Lynn.[12] In 2018, Arcadia: Landscape and Bodies (1972–1977) was put back on display in the titular exhibition Ewa Pachucka "Arcadia: Landscape and Bodies", held at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.[13]

In 2010 Pachucka exhibited in the 3rd International Art Festival in Krakow, where she received a prize for "the artist recognized for her long term creative achievements, comprehensive activity in contemporary unique textiles and uncompromising daring in the creation of new phenomena and values in art so that her attitude and talent have stimulated invention among young generations of artists".[4]

Pachucka returned to live in Europe in 2000, dying in France on 28 July 2020 in Castres.

Pachucka was featured in the Know My Name exhibition at the National Gallery of Australia in 2020–2021.[14]

Public art commissions

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Pachucka completed a couple of public art commissions in Australia during the 1980s, including a large sculpture Roman Wall, a large sculpture for the Australian Archives building in Hobart, 1982, and which is now located at the University of Tasmania, Hobart.[15]

In 1988 Pachucka was commissioned to create the large (12.5 meters long) sandstone installation, The Sun Calendar or Fossilized Architectural Landscape' for the courtyard of the House of Representatives at the Parliament House of Australia, Canberra.[16]

Exhibitions

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Collections

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Melbourne, Victoria, Australia - "Conversation" 1974.

  • Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery - Hobart, Tasmania,Australia - "Woman with hybride",1980, imprints in paint "Conversation" 1973.

Publications

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  • Craft Horizon 68, Fred Swartz, U.S.A.
  • Storstaden 21/70, Gunnar Hellman, Sweden.
  • Art And Artists 70, M.G., London.
  • Projekt 70, Wroblewska, Poland.
  • Design 71, Martin Hardingham, London.
  • Tasmanian artists of the twentieth century: painters, sculptors, printmakers and photographers 1900–1985 / Sue Backhouse.
  • Know My Name. Canberrra, ACT : National Gallery of Australia, 2020.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b National Gallery of Australia (2020). Know My Name. Canberrra, ACT. ISBN 978-0-642-33487-9. OCLC 1143495525.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. ^ "Ewa Pachucka :: The Collection :: Art Gallery NSW". www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e Taylor, P, Brassington, P, Oteri, G, Pachucki, R, Schulze, U and Walker, D 1980 , Recent Tasmanian sculpture and three dimensional art , 30 September – 18 October 1980, The Tasmanian School of Art Gallery and the Fine Arts Gallery, University of Tasmania http://www.utas.edu.au/tasmanian-school-of-art Archived 1 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ a b c d e "'Landscape' crocheted wall-hanging made by Ewa Pachucka". collection.maas.museum. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  5. ^ Blackwell, Diane (1 November 1972). "She Crochets for Art's Sake. Painter turns to "Soft Sculptures."". The Australian Women's Weekly. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  6. ^ Bottrell, Fay (1974). The Artist Craftsman of Australia. North Sydney: Jack Pollard Pty Ltd. ISBN 978-0-909950-64-4.
  7. ^ Mendelssohn, Joanna (24 January 2021). "Why weren't there any great women artists? In gratitude to Linda Nochlin". The Conversation. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  8. ^ "Works shown in the exhibition "Recent Australian Art (1973)" :: The Collection :: Art Gallery NSW". www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  9. ^ a b Pachucka, Ewa. "Landscape and bodies". Item held by National Gallery of Australia. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  10. ^ a b "SOFTSCULPTURE". nga.gov.au. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  11. ^ a b "Arcadia: landscape and bodies, 1972–1977 by Ewa Pachucka". www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  12. ^ Elwyn Lynn, 'Crocheted women', Qaudrant, pp. 60–63, Sydney, Jan 1978, 60, 61 (illus.), 63. NOTE: the arrangement of the work reproduced is different from the final version in the Art Gallery of New South Wales Collection.
  13. ^ "Ewa Pachucka". National Gallery of Australia. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  14. ^ "Art". www.utas.edu.au. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  15. ^ "ParlInfo – Heritage Management Framework". parlinfo.aph.gov.au. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  16. ^ McCulloch, Alan; McCulloch, Susan; McCulloch Childs, Emily (2006). The New McCulloch's Encyclopedia of Australian Art. Fitzroy, VIC, Australia.: Aus Arts Edition in association with The Miegunyah Press. p. 752. ISBN 978-0-522-85317-9.
  17. ^ "Wall Hangings | MoMA". The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  18. ^ "Vol. 095 No. 4875 (13 Oct 1973)". Trove. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  19. ^ The Bulletin (17 November 1973). "ART Melbourne's artistic festivity". The bulletin. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  20. ^ National Gallery of Victoria, Survey 5; Ewa Pachuka, 1978, text by Robert Lindsay.
  21. ^ Germaine, Max (1991). A Dictionary of Women Artists of Australia. Roseville East NSW, Australia: Craftsman House. p. 349. ISBN 9768097132.
  22. ^ National Gallery of Australia. "Ewa Pachucka". National Gallery of Australia. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  23. ^ a b c d e Marek, D. "Recent Tasmanian sculpture and three-dimensional art" (PDF). CORE. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  24. ^ "Ewa Pachucka". Design and Art Australia Online. Retrieved 29 November 2021.