Exhibition ZAMARŁY LOT (FROZEN FLIGHT) by Stanisław Szukalski, as well as the Rogate Serce (Horned Heart) Tribe

Friday, 7 November 2025, at 6 p.m., the Gardzienice Gallery in Lublin, at ul. Grodzka 5a

The exhibition will feature works (sculptures, drawings, linocuts, photographs, graphic works) from the collections of the Upper Silesian Museum in Bytom, including sculptures by Stanisław Szukalski from 1913-1926 and works by the artist from private collections. The exhibition will also include a unique collection of works by members of the Tribe of the Horned Heart, known as the Szukalszczycy.
In addition, the exhibition will be enriched with archival photographs provided by the Stanisław Szukalski Museum in Gdynia, which is also a partner of the event.
Before the opening of the exhibition at 4 p.m., there will be lectures by Agnieszka Bartków, curator of the Upper Silesian Museum in Bytom, and Prof. Lechosław Lameński, an eminent expert on the artist’s work and the Tribe of the Horned Heart.
Throughout its duration, the exhibition will be accompanied by artistic workshops for children and adults on sculpture and comic book creation, inspired by the life and work of Stanisław Szukalski, as well as meetings with the exhibition curators.

The opening programme:

4.30 p.m. – lectures by Agnieszka Bartków and Prof. Lechosław Lameński (2nd floor, lecture hall)
6 p.m. – opening of the exhibition ‘Zamarły Lot’ by Stanisław Szukalski and Szczep Rogate Serce (1st floor, exhibition hall)
6 p.m. – opening of the exhibition “Zamarły Lot” by Stanisław Szukalski and Szczep Rogate Serce (1st
floor, exhibition hall)

The exhibition will be open until 4 December
Admission to the opening, exhibition and accompanying events is free of charge.

Exhibition curators: Zuzanna Zubek-Gańska, Prof. Lechosław Lameński, Łukasz Wiącek
Content coordination: Katarzyna Bartnik-Daniel
Lighting design: Włodzimierz Janowski
Exhibition design and graphic design, printing: Jacek Gański
Media coverage: ZOOM, Weranda magazine, Rynek i Sztuka portal, TVP Lublin, Radio Lublin
Partners: Stanisław Szukalski Museum in Gdynia
Sponsors/Patrons of the exhibition: Williams Confectionery, Miko Security Agency
Project implemented as part of the National Recovery Plan.
More information: www.gardzienice.org

Most of the works that the artist brought from the United States to Poland were destroyed after the outbreak of World War II.
The artist’s works, deposited at the Provincial Office in Katowice and considered degenerate art by Nazi Germany, were to be destroyed as part of the Metallsammlung campaign. Szukalski recalled: ‘Someone fired a gun at the crate with “Orator” and left a hole in it. In fact, the bullet was aimed at me, but I was already far away from that place, in America.’ 1

The phenomenon of Stanisław Szukalski is found in his well-developed, muscular figures, full of expression, in strong tensions and twists, in excitement or seriousness and emotion. The sculptures are devoid of any mannerisms and imposed forms, ecstatic and statuesque at the same time.
Unconventional combinations of figures with specific ornamentation, symbolic and full of references to beliefs and legends, are the artist’s trademark.
As for the collection of the Upper Silesian Museum in Bytom, Agnieszka Bartków sums it up best:
The collection of works by Stanisław Szukalski and members of the ‘Rogate Serce’ tribe at the Upper Silesian Museum in Bytom comprises over 100 objects and is undoubtedly one of the largest collections of works by these artists in state museum collections in Poland. It includes sculptures, paintings, graphics, drawings, as well as stamp and medal designs, posters, and artefacts related to artists. 
The permanent exhibition space – the Polish Painting Gallery – displays four sculptures by Stach from Warta: ‘Orator (Speaker)’, ‘Aesop (Storyteller)’, ‘Frozen Flight (Genius / Frozen Youth)’, ‘Bolesław Śmiały (The Righteous)’, and a painting by Marian Konarski entitled ‘Night in Metaphors’. 2

Stanisław Szukalski ‘Stach z Warty’ (born 13 December 1893 in Warta – died 19 May 1987 in Burbank) – a great artist, outstanding Polish sculptor, theorist, draughtsman, painter, designer, creator and leader of the Tribe of the Horned Heart (Szczep Rogate Serce). In addition to his numerous documented artistic works, he was the author of the concept of so-called Zermatism, which spoke of the ancient origins of the Poles (Lechites). He was one of the most important figures in the cultural and artistic life of Warsaw and Kraków in the interwar period. He came from a poor family. In 1907, he emigrated with his parents to the United States and, at the age of less than 14, began attending the Institute of Art in Chicago. The boy’s extraordinary talent was noticed by the sculptor Antoni Popiel, who was staying there at the time and persuaded Stanisław’s parents to send him to study at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow. Szukalski studied there for three years under the supervision of Konstanty Laszczka, soon taking part in exhibitions of the Society of Friends of Fine Arts in Kraków. Unfortunately, due to numerous conflicts with the head of the department, he interrupted his studies after three years and decided to return to Chicago.
In the early stages of his career, he created busts in which he referred to Art Nouveau, Expressionism and Futurism. His works are full of subtle references to Polish folklore and Slavic culture. In addition to small-format sculptures, he also created monumental monuments: ‘Slavic Rooster’, ‘Chained Prometheus’, the monument to Bolesław Chrobry, sculptural decorations for the Silesian Museum in Katowice and many others. Even during his studies, he was labelled a rebel and a scandalist. The artist strongly opposed the teaching methods used at the Academy of Fine Arts. He criticised Polish art for its lack of individualism and blind imitation of Western trends. However, he often returned to Poland, became involved in local cultural life, and exhibited at the Zachęta gallery in Warsaw and the aforementioned TPSP in Kraków.

He was particularly critical of the teaching methods at the Krakow academy and soon established his own art school, called ‘Twórcownia’ (The Workshop). In 1929, young enthusiasts gathered around Szukalski and his ideas formed a group called Szczep Szukalszczyków herbu Rogate Serce (Szukalski’s Tribe of the Horned Heart Coat of Arms).

1 Barbara Szczypka-Gwiazda, Stanisław Szukalski’s Silesian studio, [in:] The unknown face of Polish art. In the circle of art in the Silesian Province during the Second Polish Republic, Silesia, Katowice 1996, p. 39.
2 Excerpt from the text by Agnieszka Bartków, Stanisław Szukalski and the Szukalszczyków Clan of the Rogate Serce Coat of Arms – works in the collection of the Upper Silesian Museum in Bytom [exhibition catalogue], Bytom 2021, p. 52.