“Gloria Artis” is a Polish ministerial decoration awarded by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage to people distinguished in artistic creation, cultural activity, or the protection of culture and national heritage.
Janina Bany-Kozłowska is an exceptionally important figure for Bolesławiec ceramics, recognized as one of the most outstanding designers in this field. Her 45-year artistic career had a decisive influence on shaping the unique character of local stoneware. With extraordinary mastery, she combined a rich, centuries-old tradition with current trends in the design of forms and decorations.
Janina Bany-Kozłowska’s body of work includes approximately 1,600 vessel designs that were introduced into serial production by Zakłady Ceramiczne „Bolesławiec”. She is also the creator of the company’s recognizable logo, which further emphasizes her contribution to the development and promotion of Bolesławiec craftsmanship. Her work has left a lasting mark on the history of Polish design, serving as an example of a harmonious combination of cultural heritage and a modern approach to applied art.
“Thank you very much once again,” said Janina Bany-Kozłowska while being decorated, and she described how her beginnings in Bolesławiec and at Zakłady Ceramiczne „Bolesławiec” looked.
52 years ago, there was astonishment and passion
When I came to Bolesławiec 52 years ago, I knew that it was a city situated on clay deposits. Wonderful clay, stretching from Rhineland-Palatinate through Bolesławiec all the way to the Carpathians. I also knew that the traditions of ceramics and pottery were extensive and dated back to the Middle Ages, or perhaps even earlier. And me? I came to Bolesławiec by chance. I was persuaded to do so by my wonderful colleague Władysław Garnik, now deceased, who gave me a letter of recommendation to the plant and asked me to visit it.
The director at the time, who has also since passed away, immediately hired me. And, to be honest, I was astonished, because there were seven plants then, known as the Local Industry Ceramic Plants. Later I learned that one of the plants that had achieved great fame much earlier was the pre-war plant of the Reinhold company. It was part of the group of plants to which, as it later turned out, I had the honor and good fortune to belong.
How could a few pots compete with major ceramic producers?
Unfortunately, the company where I began working no longer had much to boast about. It produced a few pots and flowerpots, and when it came to so-called ceramic accessories, literally just a few items. And there I was, full of passion and commitment. Nearby was Spółdzielnia Ceramiki Artystycznej (Cepelia – editor’s note), which was already very famous at the time. Mirowsławice, producing similar wares; Tułowice, which had won the Export Champion title; and Pruszków.
I thought to myself that perhaps I should try. Without considering the difficulties and obstacles that awaited me later, perhaps I could try to do something that would contribute to the company’s importance. I found a creative space of my own, something personal, and despite the primitive conditions at the time, as a designer who was only beginning to gain experience, I tried designing practically after just one year.
In 1975, I took part in a prestigious exhibition at Dom Chłopa, displaying several shapes I had designed. There were outstanding designers there. Meanwhile, I was a newly minted student and wondered what I was doing there. But that is how it began.
And then came a period of success
Then more things followed. For a while, my husband, an outstanding visual artist, began working with me, as did colleagues who designed forms and later decorations, and after some time a period of success arrived. I did not regard it as my own personal success. Heaven forbid. Conditions at the plant were getting better and better. There were excellent technologists. Director Stasik, the technical director at the time, removed every obstacle from my path when it came to ideas and the possibility of experimenting with glazes and preparing those glazes myself. And that is how… I do not know how it happened. In any case, I designed at the plant for roughly—well, almost 45 years, and I am happy that many of my designs are still in serial production today.
I am only a modest designer who got lucky. Perhaps because—I will say this immodestly—in addition to having extensive knowledge, which I do not hide, I now also have a design intuition, a creative intuition, which I always wish for others. I taught people younger than me, and I always explained that this is something one should possess; then very good things emerge. A good designer is someone—I even told my wonderful colleague Marta Małoszyc—who can choose, from the thousand ideas one has in one’s head, and which I still have to this day, the one worth working on.
And I hope that I contributed, even to the tiniest extent, to the plant’s success today, because I won quite a few awards that also helped increase the company’s importance. Just as I dreamed it would, I contributed to making it happen in some small way.