Na fali [1] is the result of a formal analysis of the topographical form of the Princely Garden in Warsaw. The characteristic element of the Warsaw landscape - the layout of the Warsaw Escarpment Skarpa Warszawska and the Poniatowski Bridge - has been transformed into a series of abstract forms, operating with strong colors. Situated in a clearing, the sculpture spreads out in front of the pavilion's terrace, creating not only a recognisable spatial accent, but also a usable piece of plein air furniture for enjoying the summer. Created specifically for the summer pavilion Stacja Mercedes, the realization is a consequence and development of the artist's earlier work. She understands the city as a giant sculpture defined by the movement of its inhabitants. Szymon Żydek, 2013, Curator of the Bęc Zmiana Foundation, Warsaw.
1: pol. fala: wave – poln. byc na fali: to ride the wave / to be "in"
The site of the Summer Pavilion is located directly on the important link - the Poniatowski Bridge - between western Warsaw and Praga to the east of the Vistula. The bridge not only crosses the Vistula, but also directs traffic over a long stretch of the Powiśle district in the river valley. Here, the city has been organically adapted to the topography, with an almost uninterrupted bushy slope down to the river. The woody slope towards the river valley has been preserved almost in its entirety, creating a green strip from south to north, which can be walked along. On this green slope, directly under the Poniatowski Bridge, is a romantic garden, the so-called Park na Książcem (Prince's Garden). Slightly overgrown, winding and playful, it cascades down the slope towards the Vistula River, separating the centre of Warsaw above from Powiśle on the waterfront below. With the sound of traffic almost always filtering through, high arches of the bridge provide a link to the city centre in this garden. Both this topographical interface and the eastern bank of the Vistula, which has remained quite naturally green, are important oases for lingering and meeting friends. These green strips–strips because they stretch along the length of the Vistula–give the urban structure air to breathe. The Poniatowski Bridge, the crucial link between east and west, overrides the topographical shape and creates a pulsation between the two sides of the city and the riverbank. The seating sculpture picks up on this oscillation between the neighbourhoods, the ever-increasing convergence, as well as the slope towards the river, here as a place to sit and rest. The interplay of colours expresses the feeling of dynamism and energy that immediately prevails in the city. Colours that confront each other, bringing together different poles. The initial form of a ‘bridge’ of nine modules can be put together in a wide variety of combinations, inviting you to change the form, to design it yourself, to create something new from the given. The colours and shapes thus also relate directly to Katarzyna Kobro, whose works deal with the interpenetration of space and sculpture.