DEC AREK, Stone of Power series: Dark Forest, 2025

ceramic, knitted fabric, 48 x 23 x 17 cm

Arek Dec (b. 1994) - visual artist, performer, musician. Graduate of Philosophy and Performatics at Jagiellonian University, where he defended his master's thesis on queer themes in J.R.R. Tolkien's literature under the supervision of Professor Małgorzata Sugiera. In his artistic practice, he combines performance, music, installation, ceramics, light and textiles, and integrates creative activities with theoretical research. His current interests revolve around themes of catastrophe and contemporary ecological and social crises. He explores the possibility of creating post-crisis communities, new forms of refuges and shelters. He is particularly interested in how crises affect vulnerable, excluded or unrecognized subjects in the legal and economic system - including queer people. Co-founder of How to Forget Gallery. Participated in exhibitions at BWA Wroclaw, Galeria Jak Zapomnieć, CU AT Sadka and Nerdka Gallery (Unsound 2021), among others. Winner of the Laboratorium competition as part of Cracow Art Week Krakers 2025.