Stanisław Borowski (B 1944) Polish, Smiley Face Paperweight. Dated "08" and inscribed "GSB" on bottom. Whimsical coloring and shape.

Size: 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 3 in. 

#2462 . 

Stanisław Borowski was born August 28th, 1944 in Moûtiers, France. His parents, Polish migrant workers, had fled there to work in the coal industry, and returned to Poland in 1948, where Borowski first trained as a mechanic. Although he had always shown a proclivity for painting, drawing, and sculpture, he hid it from his father, Jan, who punished him for showing creativity due to fears over the instability of living an artist’s life. In 1964 he went to work as a glass cutter in Krosno glassworks, eventually gaining experience in every production department and permission to craft his own works outside of company time. His aunt helped him to set up his own workshop in her garage in 1970, and in 1973 he left Krosno to work on art full time, away from the watchful eye of the Communist Party officials who had grown suspicious of his extravocational activities. At first creating simple, whimsical figures, he began to expand into ever larger and more complicated designs that frequently incorporated elements of Magical Realism as well as subtle political statements and critiques. In 1980, Borowski sent some black-and-white photographs of his work for the “New Glass Review 2” at the Corning Museum of Glass in New York, which led to international recognition and collaboration with German glass artists. As the country collapsed into martial law in 1981, Borowski received an exit permit in order to participate in a glass symposium at Frauenau, where he requested asylum. He spent the next two years trying to bring his wife and three sons to Germany. The story of his plight and creativity in the face of adversity helped him to expand in the art community, with permanent exhibitions appearing in San Francisco and Chicago. In 1987 his family opened Glasstudio Borowski in Hennef, eventually moving the facility to Bolesławiec in 1992 after the dissolution of the Soviet Union where he and his two sons continue to create new pieces to this day. Ironically, the chaos of the Cold War Era has resulted in his work being known primarily in Western Europe and the United States, but barely in his homeland. His works, handmade and in very small quantities, have become valuable collectors items both for their engraving quality and the history behind the hand that crafted them.