THE 46TH PAINTING BIENNALE BIELSKA JESIEŃ 2023

A new round of one of Poland's most important art competitions.

The 46th Bielska Jesień Painting Biennale takes place in 2023. The event has promoted contemporary art for more than sixty years, as well as providing an opportunity for new artistic personalities to emerge. Among the award-winning artists are those who made famous artists who have played a significant role in shaping the landscape of contemporary painting, while often making their debut at the final exhibition. Some of the famous names include Wilhelm Sasnal, Martyna Czech, Karol Palczak or Ewa Juszkiewicz.

Although the competition has a long tradition of more than 60 years, its formula has been open since its inception - it does not impose a theme and allows people of all ages to participate. Since 2013, it has been open to both students of art schools and painters (adults) who do not have a degree from an art school, but who are active and have produced artworks.

The jury evaluates the works and qualifies the best and most interesting of them for the final exhibition. The presentation of the works at Galeria Bielska BWA in November and December 2023 will provide an opportunity to take a synthesised look at the condition of contemporary painting.

This year, a total of 1006 entries were submitted. All of the submitted entries can be conveniently viewed in the virtual gallery >>

The Jury of the 46th Painting Biennale Bielska Jesień 2023:

Zdzisław Nitka – painter, art teacher, professor of the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław.

Aneta Rostkowska – curator, writer, graduate in curatorial studies at De Appel in Amsterdam. Since January 2019, she has been director of the Contemporary Art Centre Temporary Gallery in Cologne.

Agata Smalcerz – art historian, curator, author of texts on art, graduate of art history at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, director of Galeria Bielska BWA since 2003.

Małgorzata Szymankiewicz – Professor at the Academy of Art in Szczecin, works in painting and object.

Aleksy Wójtowicz – art critic and historian, researcher and occasional curator. Editor of the art magazine Szum.

This year’s competition and final exhibition is curated by Ada Piekarska.
The final exhibition will be held from 9 November to 31 December 2023 in Galeria Bielska BWA.

Fifty-six individuals have been qualified for the second stage of the competition. 
Details of the next stages of the biennale will be updated on a regular basis.
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During its deliberations in June 2023, the jury, consisting of: Zdzisław Nitka, Aneta Rostkowska, Agata Smalcerz, Małgorzata Szymankiewicz and Aleksy Wójtowicz, the jury long-listed 121 works by 56 artists for the second stage, selecting from 3,018 works submitted by 1,006 people.

Below the list of individuals who have qualified for the second stage of the 46th edition of the Bielska Jesień Painting Biennale:

Viktar Aberamok, Katarzyna Banasiak, Martyna Baranowicz, Zuzanna Borek, Natalia Borczi, Agata Borowa, Mariola Brillowska, Barbara Cabaj, Patrycja Cichosz, Bartosz Czarnecki, Przemysław Czepurko, Bartłomiej Flis, Agata Głogowska, Zbigniew Gula, Edyta Hul, Karolina Jarzębak, Samuel Kłoda, Mateusz Knysak, Marcin Koleśnik, Piotr Korol
Adam Kozicki, Nikita Krzyżanowska, Tomasz Kwiatkowski, Jakub Leniart, Mateusz Leśniak, Klaudia Lewkowicz, Lorak, Ant Łakomsk, Michał Maliński, Krzysztof Mętel, Daniel Mikulski, Helena Minginowicz, Małgorzata Mycek, Michał Myszkowski, Marta Paciejewska, Wojciech Pietrasz, Patrycja Piętka, Kinga Popiela, Bartłomiej Radosz, Gabriela Rosenzweig, Patryk Różycki, Maciej Salamon, Anita Sikora, Joanna Sitarz, Michał Slezkin, Jakub Słomkowski, Patryk Staruch, Szymon Szewczyk, Radek Szlęzak, Weronika Teplicka, Urszula Trawniczek, Piotr Trusik, Julia Woronowicz, Katarzyna Wyszkowska, Paweł Zięba, Agata Żychlińska.

The second and final jury meeting of the 46th biennial will take place in September 2023. After viewing the original works, the jury will select those to be presented in the final exhibition. In accordance with the rules of the biennale, the jury has the right to revise its initial assessments. Prizes and distinctions will also be awarded during the deliberations. The results will be announced on the opening day of the exhibition of the 46th Painting Biennale Bielska Jesień 2023 – 9 November 2023. 

Congratulations to all those who have qualified!