Piotr Uklanski, The Nazis (1998), via Art Observed
Currently on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a retrospective focusing on the work of Polish-born artist Piotr Uklanski, many of which are pulled from the rarely seen Joy of Photography series that the artist executed in the years following his move to the United States following the fall of Communism. (more…)
Julian Stanczak, From Life (Installation View)
On view at Mitchell-Innes & Nash’s Chelsea location is a career spanning exhibition of Julian Stanczak, the renowned Polish artist considered to be one of the pioneers of Op Art movement. Starting with his works from the 1960’s until the present, the exhibition celebrates the artist’s long career, starting at a Polish refugee camp in Uganda in the 40’s after the artist permanently lost the use of his right arm due to an infection of encephalitis. (more…)
The New York Times profiles Leto Gallery, an upstart Polish exhibition space run by Marta Kolakowska, which is committed to challenging projects and a committed interest in social themes. “I think it is important what Marta is doing in terms of Polish art but it is also a bit of fun,” says artist Konrad Smolenski, who works with the gallery and represented Poland at last year’s Biennale. “With her, it is not about selling but building strong connections to people and being honest with what we are doing. That is something that I really appreciate and I cannot imagine a different kind of relationship with a gallerist.” (more…)
Ai Weiwei is set to launch a new project in Poland next month, consisting of three pits filled with broken crockery and covered over. Installed in Brodno Sculpture Park, the hidden crockery are replicas of vases from a previous project made in 2005. “In reaching out to the history of this precious object, Ai was interested in the fetishisation of certain artefacts and their complex history encapsulated in the colonial logistics of robbery and appropriation,” says park curator Sebastian Cichocki. (more…)
Miroslaw Balka, We Still Need (2014), all images courtesy The Freud Museum
On view at The Freud Museum in London is a special exhibition from contemporary Polish sculptor and video artist Miroslaw Balka, featuring a series of installations referring to the period from 1938, when Sigmund Freud moved to London from Vienna to avoid Nazi persecution, until 1942, when four of his five sisters died in concentration camps. Densely layering Freud, Wagner and the Holocaust in equal measure, the measured and immersive installation will remain on view through May 25.
Pawel Althamer, Mezalia (detail) (2010), via Art Observed
There’s something decidedly ephemeral about the work of Pawel Althamer. The Polish artist who, over the past two decades, has created a body of sculpture, video and installation work that consistently toys with formulations of identity and society, collaborative practice and mythology. Works can hinge on a simple conceit, or careful placement of a minimum of elements, often leaving major aspects of the piece unseen or unexpressed. His Black Ebony (??) piece, for example, stands as a testament to an incomplete work, activated by a group of African sculptors he invited to utilize the workstation-like installation to create sculpture during a show.
Massimo Gioni takes Part in Draftsmen’s Congress (2012), via Art Observed (more…)
The New Museum has announced its 2014 schedule of exhibitions, prominently featuring a show by Polish artist Pawel Althamer, which will include a highly public, participatory aspect. Alongside the artist’s immediately recognizable sculptural works, the show will also welcome visitors to paint the walls of the museum’s spacious lobby. The show opens on February 12th. (more…)
Miroslaw Balka, The Order of Things (2013), via Gladstone Gallery
Polish sculptor and conceptual artist Miroslaw Balka is currently exhibiting a new sculptural work, titled The Order of Things, at Gladstone Gallery in Chelsea. Consisting of a towering set of containers and a length of hose, the work creates a continuous flow of water, pumping pitch-black water from one container through the piping, up over the rafters above the tanks, and out into the other tank. (more…)
