Dancers
Project and execution – Ryszard Chachulski
A sculptural accent with a dynamic figural composition that depicts two people in dance. The foreground female figure, dressed in a wide gown, is captured in a backward-tilted position with her left leg raised high. The second figure, with head tilted forward, holds her partner at the waist. The whole is set on a wide plinth, square in plan. The sculpture is to the right of the audience.
Made in 1974 at the request of the city authorities, it is one of several sculptural elements situated on the grounds of the Summer Theatre. The installation of the sculptural accent, originally titled “Dance” (also popularly known as the “Dancing Couple”), was carried out by employees of the City Waterfront and Drainage Board, as well as soldiers from the 5th Kołobrzeg Regiment.
Initially, the sculpture was made of copper sheet. As a result of devastation, it was destroyed in the summer of 2000. In the first months of 2001, at the request of the Municipal Services Company, it was reconstructed (made by Grzegorz Sztuk). At that time, the stolen copper covering was replaced with resin that imitates copper. Incorporated into the retaining wall, it closes the right space of the amphitheater. As a result of the reconstruction of the amphitheater in 2022, the area of the theater was surrounded by a fence, which means that outside of events, there is no access to the sculpture.
Ryszard Chachulski
was born on 19 February 1931 in Łużki in the Vilnius Province of the then Poland. In 1934 he moved with his parents to Kraków, where he attended primary school. During the occupation he settled in Myszków at Leśna Street. In Myszków he continued his education at primary school. There he also received his primary education. He graduated from secondary school in Malbork, obtaining the so-called small matriculation examination. In the years 1949-1951 he studied at the State High School of Fine Arts in Gdynia, obtaining a certificate of secondary education. Then he began his artistic studies at the State Higher School of Fine Arts in Sopot. In 1953 he moved to the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków, where his teachers were outstanding sculptors, including Adam Smolana, Jacek Puget and Ksawery Dunikowski. He received his diploma in 1957. Emotionally connected with Myszków, in 1961 he created a polychrome interior of the dining room in a service building and two projects, the so-called panneau, for Myszków Metallurgical Plants on Kościuszki Street. He was also the author of the "Światowita" monument, which became the symbol of the city. He lived in Szczecin since 1964. He created his studio in the back of a kiosk in a high-rise building on Wyzwolenia Avenue. He was one of the most famous members of Szczecin's artistic bohemia, which was centered around the 13 Muz Club.
His works were exhibited at:
1) sculpture exhibition at the 5th World Festival of Youth and Students in Warsaw – 1955,
2) II, III, IV Sculpture Exhibition in Katowice - 1955, 1960, 1962,
3) individual exhibition in Częstochowa – 1961,
4) regional exhibition of the Association of Polish Artists in Szczecin – 1965,
5) Festival of Polish Contemporary Painting in Szczecin - 1966
He was awarded the Golden Cross of Merit (2005). He died on April 16, 2012 in Szczecin. He was buried in Myszków.
Text: Marta Płachta – author of the project entitled "Hello! Whose sculpture is this?" (SBO 2024 edition)
https://infoludek.pl/szczecin/halo-czyja-to-rzezba-czyli-projekt-podpisania-szczecinskich-pomnikow/
Source: https://bip.um.szczecin.pl/chapter_59232.asp;
https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryszard_Chachulski
https://wikiszczecin.home.pl/wiki/Ryszard_Chachulski
technical evaluation of the sculpture from 24 May 2024 by Mirela Zwirblis