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Installation view, Mikołaj Sobczak, Ancora, Capitain Petzel, Berlin, 2026. Courtesy the artist and Capitain Petzel. Ph: GRAYSC
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Installation view, Mikołaj Sobczak’s, Ancora, Capitain Petzel, Berlin, 2026. Courtesy the artist and Capitain Petzel. Ph: GRAYSC
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Installation view, Capitain Petzel at ARCO Madrid 2026. Courtesy Capitain Petzel. Ph: GRAYSC
Mikołaj Sobczak
Vampires, 2021Glaze on biscuit ceramicSigned, titled and dated on bottom40 x 15 x 15 cm
15.8 x 5.9 x 5.9 inchesB-MSOBCZAK-.25-0023Further images
Created in collaboration with the historic Włocławek Faience factory, whose closure during the pandemic prompted a final series of unique pieces, this vase adopts a classic model to depict diverse...Created in collaboration with the historic Włocławek Faience factory, whose closure during the pandemic prompted a final series of unique pieces, this vase adopts a classic model to depict diverse cultural figures of the vampire. Drawing from cinema, folklore, and non-Western mythologies, it explores the vampiric kiss as a gender-indifferent gesture, staging an encounter between desire, hunger, Eros and Thanatos. All the vases pay homage to a factory integral to my upbringing and local community.
The ceramic vases refer to an originally Dutch technique that was brought to Poland by persecuted Anabaptists in the 16th century. Over time, this craft, introduced by migrants, became deeply embedded in Polish culture and is now perceived as distinctly Polish. The artist is also interested in this tension between cultural origins, migration, and the way traditions are reinterpreted as part of a national identity.
