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Wiktor Szostalo
open-in-new
<h2 id="early-life">Early life</h2> <p>Born 22 August 1952 in <a href="/facts/Pasvalys/l25QMrg4">Pasvalys</a>, <a href="/facts/Lithuanian_SSR/nD4lm1Ue">Lithuanian SSR</a>, (<a href="/facts/Lithuania/dApVjLWW">Lithuania</a>), in 1958 he moved with his parents and younger brother Józef to <a href="/facts/Ko%25C5%2582obrzeg/YFWp8AbY">Kołobrzeg</a>, <a href="/facts/Poland/eXJ7fd0D">Poland</a>. From 1972-1978 he studied at the <a href="/facts/Academy_of_Fine_Arts_in_Cracow/eHNyyWXQ">Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow</a>, graduating with an MFA in painting and sculpture. </p><p>Szostalo was one of the founders of the <a href="/facts/Solidarity_(Polish_trade_union)/1SnMvEz6">Solidarity</a> movement in Kolobrzeg and in March 1981 was elected the first Chairman of the Regional Board of "Solidarity" in <a href="/facts/Koszalin/vPqDqCvu">Koszalin</a>, which he represented in the 38-person National Committee headed by <a href="/facts/Lech_Wa%25C5%2582%25C4%2599sa/C3YGtMly">Lech Wałęsa</a>. He was jailed for five months after the communist regime's crackdown on "Solidarity" in December 1981. </p><p>He left Poland in 1982 for the US, where he was granted political asylum. In 1990, he became a US citizen. He currently lives and works in both <a href="/facts/St._Louis%2c_MO/22beLecX">St. Louis, MO</a> and <a href="/facts/Ko%25C5%2582obrzeg/YFWp8AbY">Kołobrzeg</a>, <a href="/facts/Poland/eXJ7fd0D">Poland</a> </p> <h2 id="public-commissions">Public commissions</h2> <p>Szostalo is widely recognized for his large scale public sculpture commissions. Departing from the more traditional method of bronze casting, these pieces are executed directly in welded stainless steel. They often incorporate additional elements such as cast crystal glass or carved wood. Many of these works were commissioned by Catholic churches including the "<i>Angel of Harmony</i>" at the <a href="/facts/Cathedral_Basilica_of_St._Louis/HRRqqXU6">Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis</a>, the "<i>Crucifix</i>" at St. <a href="/facts/Elizabeth_Ann_Seton/Vz2uRcq5">Elizabeth Ann Seton</a> Church in <a href="/facts/Carmel%2c_Indiana/l06xwY7s">Carmel</a>, <a href="/facts/Indiana/VRnvjXoQ">Indiana</a>. <a href="http://www.seas-carmel.org/about.asp">[1]</a>, and the "<i>Pieta</i>" at Christ Our King Church in <a href="/facts/Charleston%2c_South_Carolina/dB8lmPF2">Charleston</a>, <a href="/facts/South_Carolina/lQQX84IS">SC</a>. <a href="http://www.catholic-doc.org/miscellany/2001/0405pieta.HTM">[2]</a> </p><p>Other notable pieces include the "<i>Millennium Memorial</i>" commissioned by the city business council of <a href="/facts/Ko%25C5%2582obrzeg/YFWp8AbY">Kołobrzeg</a>, Poland, "<i>At Long Last I got to Like Myself the Way I Am</i>", commissioned by the Novol Corporation, <a href="/facts/Pozna%25C5%2584/WyM53M58">Poznań</a>, PL, and "<i>Team Spirit</i>", selected by the <a href="/facts/NCAA/nLkY4pm1">NCAA</a> for their headquarters in <a href="/facts/Indianapolis/r8BQof9G">Indianapolis</a>, <a href="/facts/Indiana/VRnvjXoQ">IN</a>. </p> <h2 id="the-tree-hugger-project">The Tree Hugger Project</h2> <p>Szostalo's <i>Tree Hugger Project</i>, begun in 2005, is an ongoing work of environmental art conceived along with the artist Agnieszka Gradzik. With the help of participants on site, who gather branches, twigs, vines and flowers, the artists fashion together these natural materials into groups of figures literally "hugging" trees. The artist's stated intention is to "<i>...remind us that we humans are still very much a part of our natural surroundings</i>".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> </p><p>Installations of the project are sponsored by local environmental or arts related organizations and have occurred in cities across Europe, in England, and in the United States. </p><p>An installation was sponsored by Klub Gaja in Wilkowice, Poland to celebrate International Tree Day 2006 and included an installation in <a href="/facts/Park_Ujazdowski/3uU0bVE0">Park Ujazdowski</a> at Poland's Center for Contemporary Art.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> </p><p>Past installations have taken place at <a href="/facts/Washington_University_in_St._Louis/GmIT8zU6">Washington University in St. Louis</a>,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> <a href="/facts/Forest_Park_(St._Louis%2c_Missouri)/03VE5zmz">Forest Park</a> in <a href="/facts/St._Louis/22beLecX">St. Louis</a>,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> at the <a href="/facts/Hebden_Bridge/mVmm3uEv">Hebden Bridge</a> Arts Festival in England, and in <a href="/facts/Stadtpark%2c_Vienna/d6TGcG1G">Stadtpark</a> in <a href="/facts/Vienna/NSpIURsA">Vienna</a>, <a href="/facts/Austria/4qWIMIyc">Austria</a>. </p><p>In March 2007 the Tree Hugger Project was named first in a national online arts competition organized by the New York City-based organization Art For Progress,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> and has been invited to the 2007 <a href="/facts/Burning_Man/bfvsJGbR">Burning Man</a> festival, which also awarded the Project a grant for the installation.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> </p><p>As of 2006, further installations were planned for <a href="/facts/Europos_Parkas/NDa7WDMr">Europos Parkas</a> in <a href="/facts/Lithuania/dApVjLWW">Lithuania</a> and the <a href="/facts/Tehran_Museum_of_Contemporary_Art/Czt0WILe">Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art</a> in <a href="/facts/Isfahan/BLw4k2fm">Isfahan</a>, <a href="/facts/Iran/24yukge8">Iran</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> According to the artist's website a large installation was scheduled for 2008/9 in India, with the participation of several environmental groups from around the world, to commemorate the <a href="/facts/Chipko/K4mHu6Yn">Chipko</a> women.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> A documentary film of the Chipko Women Tribute was also planned. </p> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="http://www.wsart.com/">Wiktor Szostalo's official website</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070625153521/http://www.szostalosculpture.com/">The Religious Art of Wiktor Szostalo'</a>[<i>usurped</i>]</li> <li><a href="http://www.sculpture.org/portfolio/sculptorPage.php?sculptor_id=1000770/">Sculpture.org listing for Wiktor Szostalo</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.treehuggerproject.com/">The TreeHugger Project</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"Wiktor Szostalo-About the Artist". www.wsart.com. <a href="http://www.wsart.com/artist/artist.html" target="_blank">http://www.wsart.com/artist/artist.html</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>"28. Wiktor Szostało" (in Polish). Retrieved 2 October 2021. <a href="http://www.edwardstepien.pl/artykuly/ksiazki-2/kolobrzeg-twierdz/28-wiktor-szostalo/" target="_blank">http://www.edwardstepien.pl/artykuly/ksiazki-2/kolobrzeg-twierdz/28-wiktor-szostalo/</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>"Tree Huggers", FiberArts, October 2006 <a href="/w/index.php?title=FiberArts&action=edit&redlink=1" target="_blank">/w/index.php?title=FiberArts&action=edit&redlink=1</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>"Unknown".[permanent dead link] <a href="http://www.gazetaecho.pl/cgi-bin/echo/events/events.pl/2006.10.10-2006.10.10" target="_blank">http://www.gazetaecho.pl/cgi-bin/echo/events/events.pl/2006.10.10-2006.10.10</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>"Święto Drzewa" [Tree Festival] (in Polish). Archived from the original on 2017-02-23. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170223114505/http://www.klubgaja.pl/swieto-drzewa" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20170223114505/http://www.klubgaja.pl/swieto-drzewa</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"Tree Hugger Project". 2006-01-26. Archived from the original on 2014-07-01. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20140701140014/http://mocoloco.com/art/archives/002020.php" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20140701140014/http://mocoloco.com/art/archives/002020.php</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>"Tulip Festival Planned At Jewel Box". Archived from the original on 2006-07-22. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20060722003210/http://stlouis.missouri.org/citygov/newsgram/volumes/volume28/tulip-festival.htm" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20060722003210/http://stlouis.missouri.org/citygov/newsgram/volumes/volume28/tulip-festival.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>"Clash of the Artists 2009 Finalists". Archived from the original on 2012-02-08. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120208074818/http://www.artforprogress.org/contest.php" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20120208074818/http://www.artforprogress.org/contest.php</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>"2007 Green Man Pavilion". Archived from the original on 2009-07-08. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090708133351/http://www.burningman.com/installations/07_mangrove.html#tree_hugger" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20090708133351/http://www.burningman.com/installations/07_mangrove.html#tree_hugger</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>"Homefront Amore Amonte". Archived from the original on 2009-03-13. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090313121454/http://www.stlmagathome.com/media/At-Home/July-August-2006/Homefront/" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20090313121454/http://www.stlmagathome.com/media/At-Home/July-August-2006/Homefront/</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>"The Treehugger Project" (PDF). 2007-07-15. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-28. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070928062605/http://www.treehuggerproject.com/th-press.pdf" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20070928062605/http://www.treehuggerproject.com/th-press.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>