Artistry 4. Orońsko Collection

A new look at the collection of the Polish Sculpture Centre – works by 20th-century giants and younger artists who are associated with the Centre.

The Centre of Polish Sculpture in Orońsko is housed in a 19th-century palace and park complex which once belonged to the famous painter Józef Brandt. This space is dominated by contemporary sculptures displayed in the open air, in ephemeral and permanent exhibition spaces, as well as at temporary exhibitions which are held in several galleries, including the Contemporary Art Museum with the Main Gallery and the Chamber Gallery, the Orangery, the Chapel and the Coach House. The centre also includes a number of sculptural studios, technical and social facilities, a hotel, restaurant and offices. The main palace houses the Museum of Józef Brandt.
Established in 1981 as a national cultural institution, the Centre of Polish Sculpture displays 2,000 works of art which have been acquired so far. The exhibition in Galeria Bielska BWA features several dozen artworks which have been selected by the curator Eulalia Domanowska – an art critic and the director of the Centre. The works include sculptures, objects, installations and video films created by 20th-century giants and younger artists.


The exhibition presents various trends and transformations: from modernist figuration, abstraction and expression to contemporary spatial works, such as objects, videos and neon lights, which – as Rosalind Krauss put it – belong in the extended realm of art. The works are accompanied by essays by art historians and artists who focus on important aspects of contemporary sculpture.

This is the first time we present our work outside the Centre. The exhibition in Bielsko-Biała features a number of our latest acquisitions. The works have been created by a couple of Polish artists – Sofi Żezmer, who lives and works in Wiesbaden, Germany, and Jacek Jagielski.

The exhibition is accompanied by a film by Róża Fabjanowska and Sławomir Malcharek, which features the presentation of our collection in Riga. There are also a couple of publications supplementing the exhibition: Craft. 100 years of Polish Sculpture and Sculpture Today. They aim to demonstrate the profile of the Centre of Polish Sculpture, which is a national cultural institution, and to expound on the character of contemporary sculpture.
                                                                                                                                       Eulalia Domanowska

The exhibition Artistry 4. in Bielsko-Biała offers yet another new look at the collection of the Centre of Polish Sculpture. Previously, the exhibition was held at the National Museum in Riga, Latvia, at the Armory Gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk – as part of the program of the international Congress of Contemporary Art Curators IKT and at the Museum of Contemporary Sculpture in Orońsko.


Participants: Magdalena Abakanowicz, Sylwester Ambroziak, Michalina Bigaj, Włodzimierz Borowski, Tatiana Czekalska i Leszek Golec, Wojciech Fangor, Władysław Hasior, Thorsten Goldberg, Jacek Jagielski, Jerzy Jarnuszkiewicz, Marek Kijewski i Małgorzata Malinowska „Kocur”, Jarosław Kozakiewicz, Piotr Kurka, Natalia Lach-Lachowicz, Daria Malicka, Jarosław Perszko, Maria Pinińska-Bereś, Marta Pszonak, Martyna Szwinta, Sofi Żezmer.

Curated by: Eulalia Domanowska
In co-operation with: Henryk Gac
Catalogue editor: Halina Gajewska, designed by: Michał Piekarski, promotional campaign by: Dorota Monkiewicz i Paweł Czyż
Exhibition arranged by: Mateusz Suligowski

Vernissage: Tuesday, 15 January 2019, 6 pm.
The exhibition runs until 17 February, 2019 .