FOR JOHANNE AND ANNA – AN EXHIBITION FROM THE ART COLLECTION OF GALERIA BIELSKA BWA

The exhibition curated by Agata Smalcerz pays homage to the first women who inhabited the Sixt’s Villa.

Agata Smalcerz, curator of the exhibition:
The title refers to the history of the house and its first female inhabitants: Johanne Emilie, the first wife of Theodor Sixt, and Anna, his second wife. Theodor erected this magnificent villa with a garden for Johanne. He dreamt of leading a happy family life there, surrounded by a bunch of children. Unfortunately, that dream never came true. Johanne died childless and, doubtless, heartbroken. Theodore remarried, but his second wife, Anna, who was 30 years his junior, also failed to give him a long-awaited child and heir.

More than a century later, the former chambers of the villa are used as an exhibition space. The selection of works for the first exhibition – paintings, prints, photographs and installations – all reflect the modern perception of the role of a woman as an autonomous individual on an equal footing with a man, and not just as a mother, which for centuries defined her social status; an individual with her own dreams, priorities and achievements. The exhibition presents the profiles of a number of strong women, who could have well served as role models for the unfortunate wives of Theodor Sixt, and helped them develop stronger personalities and more independent attitudes. The works featured in the exhibition also reflect the feeling of longing and melancholy which is fuelled by the passage of time and the inevitability of death.

The exhibition “For Johanne and Anna” presents the works of Jagoda Adamus, Tamara Berdowska, Beata Ewa Białecka, Monika Chlebek, Martyna Czech, Karina Czernek, Teresa Gołda-Sowicka, Aneta Grzeszykowska, Izabela Gustowska, Karolina Jabłońska, Bartek Jarmoliński, Ewa Juszkiewicz, Koji Kamoji, Kasia Kina, Kasia Kmita, Barbara Konopka, Grzegorz Kozera, Dominika Kowynia, Sebastian Krok, Iwa Kruczkowska-Król, Zofia Kulik, Viola Kuś, Natalia LL, Małgorzata Markiewicz, Paulina Poczęta, Malwina Rzonca, Jadwiga Smykowska, Irmina Staś, Kamila Woźniakowska, Ewa Zawadzka, Krzysztof Zarębski, and others.

Agata Smalcerz – an art historian and critic, curator of exhibitions, author of tests on contemporary art published in national titles and publications, she has been the director of Galeria Bielska BWA in Bielsko-Biała since 2004.

The opening of the exhibition is scheduled to coincide with the inauguration of the exhibition centre in Sixt’s Villa on Friday, 6 November, 2020.