PIOTR MALYSZ

Initially constructed as a wooden fortress in the 11th century, Poland's Będzin Castle would be reconstructed in stone during the reign of Casimir the Great around the 1300s.

After several centuries of disrepair, the castle underwent a restoration in the mid 1950s and now houses a museum. Poland is also the home of featured jewelry designer Piotr Malysz.


I expected Malysz' collections to be ultra modern, and monochromatic and to some degree they are; however, Malysz explores varied outlines, colors, textures, and styles in his collected works.

Considering at one time the Polish government was restrictive to the arts, it is nice to learn about a few jewelry designers, as well as other types of artists, from this part of the world.

Malysz began creating jewelry a little over two decades ago and his diverse design approach incorporates sterling silver, carneolite, and beads of silver and acrylic.

One of the collections includes vise-like pendants strung on cables featuring what appear to be rough-cut pieces of amber. These particular items, with their powerful angular structures, possess a masculine type of edginess.

He continues this masculine aesthetic in a second collection that features a series of neutral tone metals carved alternately into circular and square discs. The focal point is the contrast of two to three different metals he implements in a single disc.

The disc's design structure highlight halves or portions of different metals. One metal is gold with a brushed finish and a small section of it appears torn away exposing oxidized silver with a grooved surface.

Switching gears, his bead-link collection highlights vibrant colored beads and clean, linear designs. Here again, the arrangement of small details can generate such an incredible visual impact.


One of my favorite collections features items that resemble small, chocolate cakes dusted with silvery sugar.

Whether or not this is the effect he was going for, I don't know but the design is a testament to the incredible structures rendered from metal.
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Photo 1 (top right): Calcite, Carneolite, and Silver Necklace
Photo 2 (bottom left): Unidentified Item (Chocolate Cake)