BARTLOMIEJ KURELA

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Karl Geckler

Karl Geckler

In 1988, I took a break from architecture and started sculpting and going to gallery openings, going to museums, and meeting artists. I started learning about different materials and perspectives and was exposed to the ideas of other people directly. I learned a little bit about how galleries operate, and I participated in a few group shows. This was in Chicago. 

I don't know if I've had a singular most important mentor that has helped me navigate the world as an artist. Although Virginia Ferrari of Chicago, the Italian Sculptor, does come to mind. I shared a studio with him In the 90s and he was an accomplished sculptor, internationally known. It was early in my career. I talked with him, he hired me to help visualize some of his works and we would talk about how the art world worked and the challenges we faced. He was maybe 25 years older than I was and had a wealth of experience. I saw how famous he was and how he still struggled. He told me the story of the stainless-steel taurus-shape sculpture that's located at the Ohio St. ramp coming into Chicago. Formerly It was in front of Marshall Fields. I believe It's like a 450,000 dollar sculpture that he was paid 450,000 for, but it cost him like 430,000 dollars and I thought. Wow. Here's this famous sculptor many pieces the world over And it became apparent to me that even if you're well known, I guess it can still be a struggle. Every artist I meet has their own story and situation. I never signed on to one particular gallery, so I didn't have any consultant holding my hand and advising me along the way. And I never I never really thought of it as a business or a profession. It was just a passion, something I had to do. I never made things and I still don't really make things with the idea of, “Can I sell this? How do I sell this?”. I think I was purely creative. I'm 62 now. I was pure in that way of not thinking at all about sales. More recently, just as a challenge, I have tried actively to sell. But I have over the years existed purely pretty much in the realm of making art that I want to see. If it sells, great, but I never did it really as a profession. I was an architect for the money and I sculpted for the pure love and joy of it. And I think it is as simple as I just made what I wanted to see and I enjoyed the process.