The Artist
Grzegorz
Kiernicki
Polish-Canadian jeweller, carver, painter and sculptor. A lifetime of work in stone, shell, amber, crystal and precious metal.
100% carved, fabricated and made by Grzegorz Kiernicki himself.
A Life of Making
Grzegorz Kiernicki was trained in the European tradition of hand carving and metalwork, and has spent his working life at the bench — first in Poland, later in Canada. The collection presented here is not a product line. It is the accumulated output of decades of solitary work.
Every object is one of one. Each vessel begins as a raw piece of natural material — Baltic amber, sea shell, labradorite, lapis lazuli, agate, marble, crystal — and is carved down by hand until its form, its walls and its neck are finished. Nothing is cast. Nothing is duplicated. Nothing is outsourced.
Alongside the vessels sit hand-carved cameos, jewellery, paintings and sculpture. Taken together they form a single archive: one artist, one pair of hands, one lifetime.
“A Lifetime of Art. Created by Hand.”
From Poland to Canada
A Lifetime of Art and Craftsmanship
The story of the Grzegorz Kiernicki Collection began many decades ago in Poland.
My father, Grzegorz Kiernicki, began his career as an artist with his own painting gallery. His passion for art eventually led him into jewellery making, and he later operated his own jewellery shop in Poland, creating pieces by hand and developing the skills that would define his life's work.
In 1982, he made the difficult decision to leave Poland and immigrate to Vancouver, Canada, in search of a new beginning. He left behind what he had built in Poland, including his business and possessions, which he entrusted to his brothers.
Arriving in Vancouver meant starting again from almost nothing. He found work in a jewellery store, repairing jewellery and creating custom pieces while rebuilding his life one step at a time.
Two years later, after establishing himself in Canada, he was finally able to bring our family — my mother, my sister, and me — from Poland to Vancouver so we could begin our new life together.
Throughout all those years, one thing never changed: he continued creating.
For more than four decades in Canada, my father has made jewellery, carved intricate pieces, painted, and created sculptures. His collection grew gradually throughout his life — not as mass-produced merchandise, but as the work of an artist constantly experimenting, designing, carving, painting, and making things with his own hands.
Today, at 80 years old, Grzegorz has accumulated a remarkable collection representing a lifetime devoted to art and craftsmanship.
As his son, I am now helping him share these pieces with the world. Many have never before been offered for sale.
When you purchase something from the Grzegorz Kiernicki Collection, you are not simply purchasing a piece of jewellery or art. You are becoming the next caretaker of something created during an extraordinary artistic journey that began in Poland and continued for more than four decades in Canada.
“A lifetime of art. Created by hand.”
— Jacek Kiernicki
The Practice
I
Carving
Stone, shell, amber, crystal and marble are carved by hand, one object at a time, without moulds, casts or reproduction of any kind.
II
Metalwork
Silver, sterling silver and gold are fabricated, formed and fitted to each carved body individually — every mount is unique to its piece.
III
Finishing
Setting, polishing and final finishing are completed by the artist himself, to the standard of a single lifetime body of work.
The Archive
Photographs
from a working life
Provenance
Documented
piece by piece
Each work is entered into the archive with its piece number, materials, metal, weight, dimensions and condition. Where a detail has not yet been confirmed, it is left blank rather than estimated. Nothing in the record is invented.