Puberty

Dojrzewanie [Puberty] is a solid sculpture made of copper plate presenting an image of waking femininity. It is a symbolic depiction of the moment between childhood and adulthood. The artist created this masterpiece using one of his favourite techniques – hammering (repoussage) in copper sheet. About his first encounter with the new material he wrote: One day in 1922 I found a piece of zinc plate on my table […] For sure it wasn’t an ordinary piece of tin! I knew it once I felt it with my fingertips. It tried to seduce me. I examined it carefully and suddenly I saw an outline of a figure in it. […] I felt wind beneath my wings. I started buying copper sheets (about one millimetre thick). It brightened the interior of my studio in Lodz with gold. Together with copper the joyful enthusiasm entered the room. (M. Szwarc, Moje blachy, Nasz Przegląd, 1927, no. 13 (13 Jan.), p. 4).RP