'The Self-Born: Stanislav Szukalski'

Through Sept. 23, Varnish Fine Art

STANISLAV SZUKALSKI WAS his own worst enemy when it came to guaranteeing his place in the canon of fine art. Notoriously cantankerous and politically offensive, he could have given a fig what anyone thought about him and did little to ingratiate himself to the art world. Szukalski was a megalomaniac who believed he had a singular artistic vision and claimed to have no influences or predecessors (hence the exhibition title), and his art and life revolved around promoting his eccentric theories about society. Born in Poland in 1893, Szukalski was considered an art prodigy by age six and entered the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow at 17. While still in his teens, he moved to Chicago (where, as legend has it, he threw an art critic down a flight of stairs for touching one of his sculptures) then returned to Poland. He escaped Poland at the onset of World War II, returned to the United States, and settled in southern California. If it weren't for the efforts of fans who sought him out near the end of his life (he died in 1987), Szukalski may have remained in obscurity. Considering the last two exhibitions of Szukalski's work were in 1989 and 2000, "The Self-Born: Stanislav Szukalski," which features more than 50 works, is a rare glimpse of a man some consider a "lost master." Although he would deny it, Szukalski's art contains a range of influences that is alternately Aztec, Mayan, art deco, art nouveau, and even Haida (a Northwest Native American tribe). If some of the sculptures seem weirdly small, it's because they are. Szukalski cast them as maquettes for monuments and, in some cases, gave specific instructions as to where the monuments should be placed. Only one of Szukalski's projects, Monument to a Miner, was fully realized. It was installed in a government office in Warsaw but was destroyed when the Nazis bombed Poland. Coincidentally, the artist was buried in the monument's rubble for two days until his wife came to dig him out. He is still being dug out of the rubble all these years later. Tues.-Fri., 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sat., 1-5 p.m., 77 Natoma, SF. (415) 222-6131, www.varnishfineart.com. (Katie Kurtz)