Page 54 - Arts Management Magazine Future Issue

To the Moon...and Beyond – The Distance

One Polish Artist Would Go for Inspiration

That is what I’ve always wanted my art to be…a touching message, inspiring people to
take a deeper look at the world, search for profound meaning and engage in dialogue.
– Wieslaw Borkowski

Wieslaw Borkowski’s fascination with Asian culture, like that of many foreign expats living in Asia, began at
a young age after encountering Asian films and Japanese animation. He was drawn to the exotic styles and
themes of mythical stories in anime like Dragon Ball, and sketching and recreating these characters became
his first foray into art.On an exchange trip to the Boston College High School, his interest in China deep-
ened when he was able to take his first formal classes in Chinese Language. It was there he got his Chinese
Name, Baiwei (白薇), which he later transfigured to 白尾 meaning “White Tail.” He said: “I remember
how freeing it was to have the opportunity to follow my interests and study whatever I wanted. Those short
few weeks in America really fostered a desire to travel and live abroad in China.”

This interest led to him studying Sinology in Warsaw. His professor saw his love of art and introduced Wi-
eslaw to Stanislaw Tworzydlo (傅铎), a Polish master of Chinese Aesthetic, who had the rare opportunity
to take a master’s in Art in China during the 1960s, before the Cultural Revolution began. Wieslaw became
Stanislaw’s disciple and learned both Chinese painting and calligraphy. Following University, he won a
scholarship to study Chinese language at Zhejiang University, but he admits that the real reason he chose
to study in the city of Hangzhou was because it is also home to the prestigious China Art Academy (CAA):
“I hadn’t really planned to go to CAA, but I knew I could always make friends there and learn more from
them, so I was excited just to be able to visit the campus when I could.”

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