Spring

In 1925 Joachim Utech, having completed education in Berlin, returned to his hometown Białogard where he taught art classes in the local middle school and devoted himself to creative work in the atelier adjoining his home. In 1930, he joined the artistic association das neue Pommern operating in Szczecin, and took part in its exhibitions every year. He also presented his sculptures at exhibitions of the Der Norden association of painters, promoting the idea of Northern Expressionism. In 1936, during the 20th Venice Biennale, Utech’s works aroused considerable interest and some of them were purchased for the private collections of Benito Mussolini. Together with the Berlin art critic Hans Zeeck, Utech organised “Eastern German Art Exhibition” in Koszalin. The artist willingly accepted orders for sculptures intended for the public space, among others in Białogard, Sławno, Słupsk, Kołobrzeg and Lębork. His works were also purchased by museums in Berlin, Essen and Dessau. In spite of numerous setbacks, he also exhibited during WWII (Hamburg, Amsterdam and Prague). In the post-war period, Utech regularly presented his works in galleries in Hamburg, Cologne and Hanover, yet he primarily took part in exhibitions organised by associations and institutions dealing with East German art (Darmstadt, Marburg, Wiesbaden, Düsseldorf). In 1931, the artist took efforts to exchange his earlier works kept in the Museum der Stadt Stettin for a more mature, in his opinion, woodcarving piece. In February 1934, a bas-relief piece executed in nut wood and entitled “Spring” found its way to the museum collection as a result of exchange for sculptures “Peasant” and “Beggar Woman” (upon the consent of their former donor, municipal counsellor of common education); unfortunately, it was lost during the war or right after it. In 2010, the work resurfaced in “Czas”, a Szczecin antique store, was purchased for the collection of the National Museum in Szczecin and restored to its rightful place.

Dariusz Kacprzak