Gallery of Contemporary Gdańsk Sculpture in Park Oliwski

Related: Exhibition: “Sculptures Among Greenery. 50 Years of the Gallery in Park Oliwski” Digital Social Archive

The Gallery of Contemporary Gdańsk Sculpture, located in the grounds of Park Oliwski, is one of the permanent exhibitions of the National Museum in Gdańsk, which initiated its creation as early as 1976. This was carried out with the participation of the Gdańsk District of the Association of Polish Artists and Designers and the Gdańsk City Hall. It is also worth emphasising the social character of the activities that accompanied the creation of this exhibition and the commitment of the artists themselves (especially Adam Smolana and Wiesław Pietroń), institutions and associations, as well as workplaces (e.g. Stocznia Marynarki Wojennej in Gdynia).

The open-air sculptures are works by well-known artists associated with the Pomeranian coast and the Gdańsk art academy. The sculptors worked in bronze, stone (granite and sandstone), synthetic materials and stoneware ceramics, personally choosing the locations for their works in Park Oliwski. This initiative followed the popular trend of the 1960s and 1970s of placing contemporary works of art in public spaces. The modern form of the objects did not disturb the historical character of Park Oliwski, which was founded and shaped by the successive Cistercian abbots residing in Oliwa. The great diversity in subject and form is striking; evidently there were no restrictions or guidelines governing their selection. Among the representations are both realistic and abstract works, and their themes refer to mythology, the Bible and historical events.

Years of exposure to varying weather conditions meant that the sculptures required conservation and, in several cases, relocation. This was made possible thanks to a grant from the City of Gdańsk. After two years of conservation and revitalisation work, the sculptures regained their lustre and were also newly labelled.

We invite you to explore the sculptures in the Oliwa park with our specially published “Spacerownik” (walking guide). The publication is accompanied by a set of attractive gadgets: a canvas bag, a notebook and a set of postcards.

The “Spacerownik” and the gadgets can be purchased at the ticket desks of the Modern Art Department and the Ethnography Department.