Born in Warsaw, Poland, Jacek Jarnuszkiewicz comes from a family of sculptors who moved to Québec in 1963. He holds a bachelor’s degree in art history and visual arts from the Université de Montréal (1978) and a master’s degree in visual arts from Concordia University (1982). He has created numerous artworks in the public space, including L’homme est un roseau pensant III (2007) in the Cartier Métro station in Laval, and Dialogue inaltérable (2009) in Burlington, Vermont.
Artwork description
A concrete wall shows the outline of a set of shallow drawers, like those used to file documents. Emerging from one of the drawers is a square plate on which the numbers 1 to 16 are inscribed. A grid is superimposed onto this plate, suggesting the graphic marker used by printers to make printed characters legible. The shadow of the numbers moves over the wall during the course of the day, like a sundial. A stainless steel alphabet is laid out on the back of the wall. A stainless steel anvil, with a partially-exposed brass frame, sits on top of the wall. A geometrically-shaped white marble counterweight balances on the brass frame.
Source: Artexte Public art : Database Archive, 1963-2005.