https://doi.org/10.21697/kmt.2025.63.010
Julia Keilowa (1902–1942 or 1943), a sculptor and metalworker, is nowadays considered an icon of Polish design. While studying at the Warsaw School of Fine Arts, Keilowa attended metalwork classes taught by Karol Stryjeński. During this time, she learned how to work with metal, and became familiar with its properties, both its possibilities and limitations. When forging utilitarian objects and supplying designs to factories, she placed great emphasis on the harmony between their form and the material from which they were made. Keilowa knew how to use the play of reflections and tones that were created on the metallic surface of the plate with great sensitivity. Characteristic of her approach to metal is the nuanced effect created by the light reflecting on the softly curved or expressively refracted elements of the designed vessels. Gloss, matt, and the contrast between light and shadow co-create the form of the objects.
Keilowa's works are part of the art deco style. They reflect the spirit of the 1920s and 1930s, a period when creators of utilitarian objects conveyed their fascination with modernity through light, movement, dynamic clashing of forms and geometrisation.
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