Anna Malicka-Zamorska
(b. 1942) born in Lviv, Poland, lives and works in Wroclaw, Poland
Lobed Chair, 1973
unglazed terracotta, 40 x 44 x 36 inches, 93.39.246A-F
Anna Malicka-Zamorska began her extensive career as a ceramic artist by studying under renowned Polish ceramicist Julia Kotarbińska at the Academy of Fine Arts in Wroclaw, Poland, from where she received an M.F.A. in 1965.
In the spring of 1971, under the auspices of the International Academy of Ceramics, the Tennessee Arts Commission pledged its support for the promotion and establishment of the U.S. International Ceramic Symposiums. The Symposium’s mission to help develop a worldwide network of support for ceramic art was achieved by bringing together top ceramic artists from around the world for a month-long sharing of ideas and creation of innovative ceramics.
Left and Center: Malicka-Zamorska constructing the chair. Image on right from 1973 ICS catalogue. Right: Former TAC staff Dorothy Ritter sitting in Malicka-Zamorska’s chair, potentially at the final exhibition. Photo is in the 1973 catalogue.
Malicka-Zamorska represented Poland at the First U.S. International Ceramic Symposium, which consisted of twenty-five artists from thirteen different countries, and was hosted in the summer of 1973 at the Memphis Academy of Art. In addition, she also returned to Tennessee in 1985 to participate in the Third U.S. International Ceramic Symposium, which consisted of eighteen artists from thirteen different countries, and was hosted at the Appalachian Center for Crafts in Smithville, TN.
While at the 1973 Symposium in Memphis, Malicka-Zamorska channeled her energy towards constructing a monumental terracotta chair. One of the largest pieces made at the Symposium, the chair was slab built in six sections before being reduction fired and joined together using epoxy.
Following her participation in the Tennessee Symposiums, Malicka-Zamorska has continued to actively participate in numerous ceramic symposiums, competitions, and exhibitions. She has shown internationally in over 220 exhibitions and has received numerous honors for her work and contributions to the field of ceramics, including a Medal of Merit from her home city of Wroclaw. She is a member of the International Academy of Ceramics and the Polish Artists Union, and served as the artistic commissioner for the innovative Ceramic Symposium Porcelana Inaczej from 1997 to 2008. Her work can be found in dozens of collections around the world, including the National Museum in Wroclaw, Poland; the Museum of Ceramics in Faenza, Italy, the Fine Arts Museum in Taipei, Taiwan; the Seoul Museum of Art in South Korea, the Ariana Museum in Geneva, Switzerland; and the Benaki Museum in Athens, Greece, as well as many more museums. Her current work features imaginative and sometimes darkly deformed creatures made from chamotte and porcelain.
Written by Aiden Layer, TN Arts Intern
