A Belarusian Artist Creates Unusual Metal Sculptures In Warsaw
- 10.10.2026, 15:10
The first art installation was a sculpture of Adam Mickiewicz sitting with a book in his hands.
Filip has devoted more than half his life to creating various metal works. He ran his own business in Belarus, and now he creates unique metal sculptures in Poland. The Belarusian artist works under the pseudonym Filip Swansky. He invests thousands of zlotys in his art, but so far has not earned a significant income from it. Philip told MOST why he does this and what he hopes to achieve.
Filip is 36 years old. He has devoted nearly a third of his life to working in industry. In Belarus, he ran his own business—a workshop that manufactured metal products.
“I made literally everything: housings, panels, covers, gears, countertops, bar counters, and much more.” “Over the course of my work, my company handled more than three thousand orders,” he says of his business. “But in 2020, all my key clients went under. I sold the equipment and moved to Georgia in 2021.”
Philip lived in Georgia for about three years. There, he also tried to continue his beloved work, but the business didn’t take off. He believes that in this country, only two sectors remain truly profitable: “tourism and construction,” while all other sectors are “dead.”
As a result, the Belarusian moved to Poland.
“I got tired of catering to someone else’s business needs”
Philip registered as a sole proprietor and posted ads for his services in several Facebook groups. His first orders came from Belarusians, but over time, thanks to word of mouth, Polish clients began to appear as well. However, the income from his own business wasn’t enough to support himself, so he took on side jobs elsewhere.
A year and a half later, Philip came up with the idea of creating art objects.
“I got tired of just meeting other people’s business needs,” the Belarusian admits. “I wanted to bring my knowledge and vision together—and bring my ideas to life.”
So Philip set out to teach himself 3D modeling. He didn’t buy any courses—he just watched videos on YouTube. It took him about three months to learn.
Once the sculpture design was ready, he ordered metal sheets to be cut into specific shapes. These were then to be joined together with rivets. The service cost the Belarusian about 3,000 zlotys.
Philip assembled the sculpture right in the living room of his rented apartment in Warsaw. It took him exactly 40 hours—five days of eight hours each.
When the sculpture was finished, Philip wondered what to do with it next.
When the sculpture was finished, Philip wondered what to do with it next. He arranged to display it at a music festival in Katowice, where a separate area had been set up for Belarusian artists. Later, he presented the same art installation at the Varušniak festival in Warsaw.
However, participating in festivals didn’t solve the main issue. Philip wanted as many people as possible to see his work.
“I know the owners of the Belarusian bar Karma Crew in Warsaw. I had a brilliant idea—to offer to install the sculpture at their venue for free. We came to an agreement, I went there, and set it up. And it’s been sitting there for a year and a half now, along with the patrons,” says the artist.
“I couldn’t get in—they turned me down”
In 2025, the “Autumn Salon” art exhibition was held in Belarus. Philip decided to participate: he submitted his application remotely and entrusted the execution of his project to acquaintances in Minsk. He provided them with the necessary materials and instructions, and they brought his idea to life—creating a sculpture titled “The Poet”.
“And it just so happened that the work won a prize in the ‘sculpture’ category,” the man says. “It was my first experience with sculpture—and look at the result.”
Later, Philip applied to participate in an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw. Last winter, he went through a difficult period in his life: he had to take antidepressants. It was during this time that he created the sculpture *Helpless Soul*.
The art object depicts a person kneeling, as if sprouting roots into the ground. The figure is literally torn apart: head and body.
“I created a version of myself, so to speak,” says the artist. “But I didn’t manage to get into the exhibition—they turned me down.”
“Wouldn’t you like the sculpture?”
In 2026, Philip decided to try his luck again and submitted an application to participate in the Pekao Art Stories competition, organized by the Polish Bank Pekao.
Participants were asked to create an art object with their own hands, inspired by the bank’s symbol—the bison. They were then to submit their work by sending a photo or video of the finished piece.
Philip decided to create a life-size metal sculpture of a bison—about as tall as a person and two and a half meters long. It was impossible to carry out such a project alone in his apartment, so Philip rented a specialized space and hired several people to help with the assembly.
“It turned out to be an excellent stainless-steel bison,” he said. “Mirror-like and shiny,” he says, describing the result.
Philip took third place. As a prize, he received 1,000 zlotys.
“They just posted it on their page and forgot about it. I wrote to them afterward: ‘Don’t you want the sculpture?’ But no one replied,” the Belarusian says with a smile.
“If you spend 10,000 hours doing something, it will start to pay off”
Philip continues to fulfill commercial orders through his Polish sole proprietorship.
This year, a Polish company that organizes light exhibitions rented several of his sculptures. Philip’s art installations will be featured in a winter exhibition. However, even this deal didn’t bring him any significant income.
“It’ll be good if the money I make is enough to cover at least a month’s rent on my apartment,” says the Belarusian.
However, Philip believes that his work will eventually pay off and allow him to turn his passion into a stable source of income.
— There’s the 10,000-hour rule: if you spend 10,000 hours doing something, it will start to pay off, — concludes the Belarusian.
Philip is currently preparing to participate in the Warsaw Home Furniture exhibition. There, he plans to present five sculptures and six wall-mounted art objects. To do so, he rented a four-by-four-meter space. Participation in the three-day event cost him 16,000 zlotys.
For this exhibition, he is preparing a sculpture that took more than 150 hours to complete.
“This will be the crowning achievement of my efforts,” concludes the Belarusian.