o projekcie
An exhibition entitled “In search of freedom. Contemporary Polish painting” was opened on 26 September 2016 at the National Taras Shevchenko Museum in Kiev, showcasing the works of art of the most significant Polish painters of the second half of the 19thcentury and early 20thcentury.
The event was an attempt to introduce the Ukrainian audience to the diversity of the phenomena taking place in Polish painting in the last several dozen years. It was to present, on the one hand, modernity classics and, on the other, works of arts by artists whose greatest inspiration was searching for – and finding – freedom.
The exhibition featured works of art of the most significant Polish painters of the second half of the 19thcentury and early 20thcentury: Tomasz Ciecierski, Edward Dwurnik, Wojciech Fangor, Bartosz Kokosiński, Robert Maciejuk, Jarosław Modzelewski, Wilhelm Sasnal, Jacek Sempoliński, Henryk Stażewski, Leon Tarasewicz, Ryszard Winiarski.
The “freedom” referred to in the title of the exhibition can be understood in two ways, e.g. as a total artistic freedom offering an infinite number of ways to express oneself, but there are also paintings that address the issue of freedom construed in its default, political sense – says Bogusław Deptuła, the curator of the exhibition – And this is the face of freedom which will be referred to by the showcased works of Edward Dwurnik and Jarosław Modzelewski. They are an artistic commentary on the events from the past of the two neighbouring countries, with both left with permanent marks after the Soviet reign. These works, however, do not offer standard political journalism, so to speak, but rather a metaphoric vision thereof. We will display works being still paintings or featuring strong references to the painting tradition, but suggesting new and unexpected solutions.
The exhibition was to address a problem, and didn’t try to picture the entirety of phenomena taking place in Polish painting in recent years. It is one of the possible ways to introduce the Ukrainian audience to and make it familiar with Polish art – said Artur Jaworski, project coordinator from the Cultural Heritage Foundation.
The exhibition was open to visitors from 26 September to 16 October 2016 at the National Taras Shevchenko Museum in Kiev (Tarasa Shevchenko Blvd, 12).
The exhibition was organised under the honorary patronage of the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture.
The project was financed from the resources granted by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage as part of the programme entitled “Polish Culture Promotion Abroad 2016 – Promesa”. The exhibition was organised by the Cultural Heritage Foundation in collaboration with the Zachęta National Gallery of Art, the Polish Institute in Kyiv, the Museum of Ideas in Lviv, and private art collectors.
