Jacques

Owczarek

Contemporary French artist Jacques Owczarek's sculpture sways between abstract and figurative, renewing the wildlife sculpture genre. His collection in bronze comprises a great variety of animals and the list keeps growing.

An original approach to animal sculpture

Jacques Owczarek says himself that he was born at 30, the age he discovered sculpture. He taught himself and considers working with clay a veritable revelation. He does not define himself as a wildlife sculptor : sculpture gave him an interest for animals and not the other way round. He works with white earthenware clay, moulds a form until it resembles an animal. The artist does not make any preparative sketches and never starts a sculpture with a finished idea in mind. The creative process is progressive : what initially resembles an eagle might finish up as a bear! What interests the artist the most are the shapes, the various aspects that the clay adopts during the sculpture's creation : the animal is a pretext to the exploration of these shapes.

An intuitive and thorough artist

Jacques Owczarek privileges simplified forms, which he produces in a confident and very personal way. The artist is guided by his intuition and creates animals with geometric and dynamic lines that give the motionless substance the impression of movement. An Intense worker, the artist is extremely meticulous with each piece before casting it in bronze, working closely with the founder. Having said that the artist confides « Making straight lines, really straight lines with clay is impossible, it flakes. I take a piece in clay to my founder and he can do some really impeccable work with bronze. His demand for quality far outreaches mine, the object I bring him is rather crude and he transforms it into something beautiful. »

Jacques Owczarek's bronze animals have traveled all over the world : China, Russia, USA, UAE… The artist has been exhibiting for nearly 20 years in some of the most prestigious international shows and fairs. By presenting his own version of animals, all curves, lines and edges, Jacques Owczarek has succeeded in imposing his own style and breathing new life into bronze wildlife sculpture.