KAZIMIERZ WOŹNIAK (1909-1990)
The continuator of tradition in post-war Poland
Kazimierz Woźniak was born in 1909 in the village of Pistyń in the Hutsul region (Pokuttya, then Stanisławów Province). He grew up in a family with pottery traditions – his mother Emilia married Piotr Koszak, a renowned master of Hutsul ceramics, with whom Kazimierz apprenticed from a young age. In 1925, he began learning the craft in his stepfather's workshop; after a few years, he was already a fully-fledged craftsman and co-owner of the family workshop nagrodakolberg.plnagrodakolberg.pl. He continued all the traditional methods of decoration and firing techniques that had developed in Pokucie.
The Second World War interrupted Woźniak's activities – he was conscripted into the army and wounded at the front, and when he returned to Pistyn, he found his house and workshop completely destroyed. As part of the post-war repatriation in 1946, he left with his wife for the Recovered Territories and settled in Oława in Lower Silesia. Initially, he worked there on a casual basis (he was, among other things, a porter in a bank), but he dreamed of returning to his former profession. Around 1958, he managed to set up his own pottery workshop from scratch – he built a potter's wheel, a kiln and single-handedly recreated the forgotten technology of semi-majolica pottery from Pokucka. It was a unique undertaking, as another Hutsul potter settled in Oława (Petronela Napp, née Baranowska) simplified the technology and only made ordinary pots, while Woźniak decided to produce vessels exactly in the style of ‘Hutsul majolica’ nagrodakolberg.pl. He sold his products mainly through Cepelia (Polish Folk Art and Folk Crafts Centre), which eagerly bought up his entire production due to its unique character.
Woźniak produced over 30 different types of vessels and shapes in Oława, both functional and decorative. These included bowls, jugs, barrels for kołacz (round containers for vodka called kołacz), amphora-shaped vases (often with handles in the shape of ram's heads – known as ‘barany’), as well as characteristic three-part candlesticks (three-armed candlesticks known in the Hutsul language as ‘trijcia’). All the vessels were carefully formed on a potter's wheel, covered with a noble white slip and glazes in shades of brown, green and yellow, and then double-fired. Woźniak attached great importance to ornamentation – each piece was covered with dense geometric and floral ornamentation, often with animal motifs (his favourite motif was roosters) arranged with sensitivity across the entire surface of the vessel. As a result, his works closely resembled the pre-war products of Pokuttya masters, preserving the old style and technique. Ethnographers emphasised that in the 1970s, he was the only person in Poland to continue the tradition of Pokuttya ceramics, cultivating the rich engraved and painted ornamentation typical of the Hutsul region.
Woźniak rarely participated in competitions or folk art fairs, but when he did show his products, they always won the highest awards. In 1978, he sent his works to the National Competition ‘Polish Folk Pottery’ in Toruń, where he was awarded a special prize by the Ministry of Culture and Art. The justification emphasised his unique role in preserving Pokucka ceramics in their original form. In 1985, he was honoured with the Oskar Kolberg Award ‘For Merit to Folk Culture’ – the highest distinction for folk artists in Poland. Towards the end of his life, he also had a documentary film made about his work. He died on 30 April 1990 in Oława.
Heritage and museum collections: Both Piotr Koszak and Kazimierz Woźniak left behind a rich legacy, which found its way into museum collections. As early as 1929, their workshop in Pistyń was visited by ethnographer Tadeusz Seweryn, who documented the pottery traditions of Pokucie (he portrayed, among others, young Kazimierz at work). Currently, the works of both artists can be viewed in museums in Poland and abroad. The Ethnographic Museum in Wrocław has one of the largest collections of Kazimierz Woźniak's ceramics – about 100 objects (utility and decorative vessels), many of which are on display in the permanent exhibition. In Lower Silesia, the tradition of Hutsul majolica has survived thanks to his work: a separate section of the Wrocław museum exhibition is devoted to post-war pottery workshops, in particular Woźniak's studio in Oława. According to museum curators, his products (bowls, plates, jugs, candlesticks, etc.) carry within them ‘the mystery of their creator's former place of residence’ – although made in Lower Silesia, their technique and design faithfully imitate the Hutsul region. Kazimierz Woźniak's works can also be found in the collections of many other institutions, including the Ethnographic Museum in Krakow, the National Museum in Warsaw, the Ethnographic Museum in Toruń, the Museum in Gliwice and the Museum of Folk Architecture in Sanok. Piotr Koszak's works can also be found in museum collections in Poland and Ukraine – his tiles and vessels decorated using the Hutsul technique are held, among others, by the Seweryn Udziela Ethnographic Museum in Krakow and the Hutsul Museum in Kosovo (UA). In 2012 , a high-profile exhibition entitled ‘Hutsuls – People of Better Clay’ was organised in Wrocław, presenting over 150 exhibits of Hutsul ceramics, including historic works by the most outstanding Pokuttya potters (such as Aleksander Bachmiński and the Baranowski brothers) and post-war works by Kazimierz Woźniak.
Kazimierz Woźniak is known not only in Poland but also abroad thanks to his continuation of the Hutsul tradition in new lands. In English-language materials, he is sometimes described as a descendant of the Hutsuls who, after World War II, brought the art of Pokuttya ceramics to Lower Silesia. ‘A product of Hutsul potter Kazimierz Woźniak, who continued the ceramic traditions of Pokuttya in Oława after the war’ – this is how the description of his products at international art auctions begins. After resettling in Oława in 1946, Woźniak did not abandon the heritage of his ancestors – until the 1970s, he produced bowls, plates, vases, flower pots, candlesticks and cake stands modelled on traditional majolica from his native Pokuttya. His works were characterised by the same vivid colours and richness of patterns as the old Hutsul products, which is why they are now a valuable bridge between the culture of the Eastern Borderlands and the folk art of post-war Poland.
The international art market recognises the uniqueness of Woźniak's works – his pieces have been featured at auctions and collectors' exhibitions. In 2023, the DESA Unicum auction house organised an auction of crafts from the Hutsul region, offering, among other things, antique plates, tiles and jugs by artists such as Jan Bryżykiewicz, Piotr Cwiłyk, Petronela Nappowa, Kazimierz Woźniak and Piotr Koszak. The fact that Woźniak was mentioned in the same breath as pre-war masters from Kosovo and Kolomyia testifies to his reputation as an artist who faithfully upheld the style of the Hutsul region. Foreign descriptions emphasise the technical side of his products: creamy white engobe, engraved contours, glazes in shades of green, brown and yellow – all of which testify to the continuation of the classic decorative method. An example of this is a decorated flask for liquor from 1961, with a flattened, round body on four legs, with a deer motif among stylised vegetation and a pair of birds – a product by Woźniak from Oława, which impresses with its precision of workmanship and fidelity to Hutsul ornamentation.
Ukrainian and Russian literature also mentions Kazimierz (Kaziż) Woźniak, mainly in the context of Piotr Koszak's legacy. These sources note that Woźniak won awards in Poland for his work, including a special prize at the national pottery exhibition in 1978 and the prestigious Kolberg Award (1985) for his contribution to folk culture. These achievements were also noticed outside the country, documenting the continuity of the Hutsul tradition in a new environment. Thanks to Kazimierz Woźniak's activities, the unique semi-majolica technology survived the most difficult period and was passed on to subsequent generations. His works, like those of Piotr Koszak, can now be admired not only in Polish museums, but also in foreign exhibitions devoted to the folk art of Central and Eastern Europe. Sources indicate that many original exhibits of Hutsul ceramics (e.g. tiles with a deer motif from 1911) signed with the name Koszak or Woźniak are located in museums in Ukraine, Poland and in private collections around the world. They are a tangible testimony to the craftsmanship of these potters and their contribution to the preservation of the culture of the Hutsul region.