Wolski is the first Pole to have won an award at the Munich trade fair; in the field of jewellery design, it is one of the most prized international distinctions a designer can receive. Wolski was chosen from a group of 161 fellow designers. The jury gave the following justification for its decision: 'His work has a profound message. It is an ironic interpretation of the modern world expressed through the language of jewellery.'
In autumn 2013, Wolski also became the first Pole to exhibit his work at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York. The art jewellery exhibition, entitled Loot, featured the work of fifty-three jewellery designers from all over the world. Wolski exhibited his collection there, which comprised items made from silver, steel, silver-plate and gemstones. 'I really like what Arek manages to achieve with gemstones, how he sets them in motion. I think he is extremely inventive — he has a vivid imagination,' explained the exhibition’s curator, Bryna Pomp, in an interview with platine.pl.
Arek Wolski studied oceanography. In 1998 he graduated from the University of Gdańsk. He took up goldsmithery in his own workshop after completing his studies. He acquired skills through a process of trial and error. In his final year of studies, he got a job at an amber cutter’s workshop. After just two month, he was working on his own. 'At the beginning I saw it as more of a hobby, but the idea I could make a living doing it was germinating somewhere in my mind. I shut myself away in the cellar for a few years and somehow it worked out.' Wolski tells culture.pl.
Wolski spends most of his time designing and making functional items; until recently this was mainly jewellery, but he now creates larger objects such as furniture, lamps and ceramics.
Producing an object that is widely accepted by the public gives me great satisfaction. The difficulties involved in getting the right balance of personal style, utility and modernity in a design are a powerful motivation and stimulate the need to stay competitive. However, the most important objects for me are those which are difficult to define, the ones that lie somewhere between design and art. It is through those objects that I want to express what I consider to be significant, from my subjective perspective. I see a future for objects of that ilk in a world of mass good taste, says Wolski.