Antoni Zydroń 1936 - 2001
OBITUARY

He was a person of large format, and I realized this fact in full while reminiscing about my meetings with him and trying to grasp his creative output. He created works on several artistic levels. For me, he was primarily an original, worldly artist and splendid interlocutor, who often cooled down or corrected my idealistic beliefs about artists operating on the market.

He was a well-defined, distinct personality. He was a man who had his individual views, which he was not afraid to express and publicize. For example, his statements about the erotic arts and pornography were first published in the press and later in a book entitled "Eros i wspólnicy" ("Eros and Co.").

He sacrificed most of his time and energy to the Poznań Academy of Art, where in the past years, he directed the School of Intermedia, after performing several other functions. Among others, he was a dean of the School of Painting, Graphic Arts and Sculpture (1971-1973), vice-dean (1973-1978) and school president (1978-1981), which at that time was called PWSSP- Poznań School of Art.

Antoni Zydroń was not only a splendid artist and professor, but also an organizer. He established the Instytut Sztuki i Kultury Plastycznej Wyższej Szkoly Pedagogicznej (Institute of Arts and Culture at the Teacher's Training School) in Zielona Góra. Since 1991, he was the director of the institute. He also cooperated with the "Za Bramką" Gallery in Poznań. Thanks to his numerous contacts, the works of Roland Monteyne (from Belgium), Rainer Wichering (Germany), Maksi Velo (Albania) and Guy Ducornet (France) have been exhibited at the gallery.

My relationship with Antoni became closer several years ago, when his wife, Jola, entered his life bringing the air of youth, unpretentiousness and friendliness. We commenced visiting each other, and at numerous suppers, where roast mutton, and French ducks were generously served with wine,

 we talked about life and art, especially that produced by Antoni's friends from the PHASES international movement, with whom he exhibited his works since 1968 across Europe and both Americas. The atmosphere of their house was permeated with art, mainly because his works and those of his French-speaking friends were hanging on the walls, and Jola was writing essays on surrealism and its contexts. Most often, during such meetings Antoni would tell us about an exhibition he had just seen abroad or the works he was preparing for his own.

I was always greatly impressed by his diligence and unbelievable creativity. He was famous for his unusual three-dimensional installations, which due to the lack of precise definition were called assemblages and environments. He was never fully satisfied with the results he achieved. I always entered his studio wondering what I would see there. Once, I was surprised to see a surreal wardrobe breathing with its leather interior, or a poetic installation engraved with false proverbs by Jacques Lacomblez. Later, I saw a screen from Teisseyer, which became a Screen for Dr. Freud.

In his last years, Zydroń was developing the second trend of his creativity, which included collages, books-objects, ink sketches and korki. He also created a series of beautiful, almost classical watercolors, which unlike his other such works, are devoid of organic elements. This series is greatly admired by his fans and was presented at the "Za Bramką" Gallery in 1994. I remember this exhibition well, as it coincided with the publishing of my series of interviews with artists, which featured a talk on arts with Antoni. For this reason, Edyta and Władysław Michalak, who are the gallery owners, organized a meeting with the artist combined with the promotion of my book entitled "Być artystą!" (To be an Artist!). I had the pleasure of meeting the artist again among his latest works and exchange opinions in front of the large audience that had gathered there.
Another meeting at the "Za Bramką" Gallery devoted to Antoni Zydroń will be staged there soon. Unfortunately, the dear Professor who helped to broaden the horizons of his students and others, the originator of numerous fresh ideas, and most of all, an original artist who was a solid and reliable person and a kind of artistic witch doctor who activated the imagination, cultural background and primary instincts of spectators, will not attend it.

Andrzej Haegenbarth