Igor Mitoraj (1944-2014) - Polish sculptor, working outside Poland (France, Italy) since 1968. When he graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków, he had his first solo exhibition at the "Krzysztofory" in Kraków. He then left for Paris, where he continued his education at the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts. It was in the French capital that he began as a painter and printmaker. He became interested in sculpture after a year-long trip around Mexico, where he succumbed to a fascination with Latin American art and culture. He exhibited his work at the gallery 'La Hune' in the Latin Quarter of Paris. He was offered the opportunity to prepare an exhibition for the 'ArtCurial' gallery in Paris, which was run by the nephew of the then French president, Mitterand, and so he left for a year to visit the artistic centre of bronze foundries and marble masons in Pietrasanta, Italy. It was there that his first works in bronze and monumental sculptures in white marble from nearby Carrara were created.