charcoal, polished, 12 x 11.5 x 10 cm, signed.
Black Diamond by Lukasz Surowiec is an object created from a lump of charcoal, which was given the shape of a polished diamond. The matte black surface is polished, but uneven (light discoloration and small losses are visible). The artist's signature and the series number are handwritten on one of the sides. The creation of the "coal diamonds" Surowiec began as part of the Black Diamonds art project, conducted in 2012-2013. Together with three unemployed miners from Bytom, the artist transformed a ton of coal into lumps polished in this decorative way, which were sold as souvenirs in one of Katowice's shopping malls, established on the site of a former mine. The diamond shape seemed, perhaps somewhat ironically, to emphasize the role of Silesia's precious natural resources, the local "black gold." The project also drew attention to the situation of former miners and, paradoxically, restored their position in the free market.
Lukasz Surowiec is an interdisciplinary artist: sculptor, performer, stage designer, video maker and author of social actions. He graduated from the Department of Sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow, and also studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznań and the Universität der Künste in Berlin. In his objects and artistic interventions, Surowiec penetrates and explores current social relations, and also addresses historical and political issues. The artist rejects classical categories or classifications in favor of intermedia works that explore the human condition in contemporary socioeconomic conditions. In his works, he tries to draw attention to marginalized social groups and their problems, including historical pasts seemingly buried in the past. His work also explores issues of memory. His work takes the form of a method to explore public reality, with a focus on marginalized individuals. In his artistic activity, he addresses current social issues, also going beyond the walls of official art institutions. He is a recipient of a scholarship from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and a winner of the prestigious Spojrzenia (2017) competition for young artists. He has participated in numerous exhibitions at home and abroad. Among them, the 7th Berlin Biennale (2012), Dziady, Bunkier Sztuki (2013), What can be seen - Polish art today, MSN, Warsaw (2014), Wejście do portu, Emigration Museum, Gdynia (2016), Late Polishness, CCA Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw (2017).
