Czesław Miłosz and Beata Urbanowicz's Glass Artwork at Art Hotel

One of the most remarkable pieces in Art Hotel's art collection is an original glass artwork created by Beata Urbanowicz in 1996. The inspiration behind the piece was Czesław Miłosz's poem The Sun.

What particularly resonated with the artist was the poem's comparison of the sun to an artist. As Beata Urbanowicz recalled:

"What captivated me most was the comparison of the sun to an artist. It was my world – a world full of colour and warmth."

For many years, the artwork formed part of the décor of the restaurant located in the basement of Art Hotel. Today, it remains one of the most valuable testimonies to the hotel's long-standing relationship with art and literature.

Vaulted brick-ceiling cellar restaurant with long linen tables, folded napkins, warm pendant lights and intimate dining

A Meeting with the Nobel Laureate

In June 1997, Art Hotel had the honour of welcoming Czesław Miłosz – poet, essayist, translator and recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature. During his stay, Miłosz visited the hotel's restaurant, where he noticed Beata Urbanowicz's glass artwork inspired by his poem The Sun.

The piece impressed him so much that he spontaneously decided to sign it. This unplanned gesture gave the artwork an entirely new dimension. It became not only a work of art inspired by Miłosz's poetry, but also a lasting reminder of the poet's personal visit to Art Hotel.

Older man Czeslaw Miłosz writing on a metal plaque beside brass poles in an exposed-brick interior, warm overhead light and scattered newspapers.

The Signature That Remains

The photograph shown here documents the moment when Czesław Miłosz signed the glass artwork during his visit to Art Hotel on 20 June 1997.

It captures the authentic moment in which the poet placed his signature directly on Beata Urbanowicz's work. The autograph was later protected beneath an additional pane of glass and has been preserved ever since.

Frosted glass hotel plaque with embossed letters and a small writable nameplate scrawled in blue marker.

Discover Art Hotel's Art Collection

For guests visiting Art Hotel, this is far more than an intriguing detail from the building's history. It is a tangible reminder of the meeting between visual art and literature, and one of the few surviving mementoes of Czesław Miłosz's visit to Wrocław.