The exhibition accompanies an academic session titled "PRZESLANIE WLADYSLAWA STRZEMINSKIEGO - UNIWERSALNE ODDZIALYWANIE IDEI / THE MESSAGE OF WLADYSLAW STRZEMINSKI - THE UNIVERSAL IMPACT OF AN IDEA", organized by the Academy of Fine Arts in Lodz, which bears the name of its one-time professor and outstanding artist and art theoretician Wladyslaw Strzeminski (1893-1952).

Stefan Krygier, "Ośrodek Kondensacji Formy I", 1970, drewno, emalia nitrocelulozowa, wł. Muzeum Sztuki w Łodzi, fot. W. Pietrzyk

The exhibition W KREGU WLADYSLAWA STRZEMINSKIEGO: STANISLAW FIJALKOWSKI, LECH KUNKA, STEFAN KRYGIER, ANTONI STARCZEWSKI / THE CIRCLE OF WLADYSLAW STRZEMINSKI: STANISLAW FIJALKOWSKI, LECH KUNKA, STEFAN KRYGIER, ANTONI STARCZEWSKI accompanies an academic session titled PRZESLANIE WLADYSLAWA STRZEMINSKIEGO - UNIWERSALNE ODDZIALYWANIE IDEI / THE MESSAGE OF WLADYSLAW STRZEMINSKI - THE UNIVERSAL IMPACT OF AN IDEA, organized by the Academy of Fine Arts in Lodz, which bears the name of its one-time professor and outstanding artist and art theoretician Wladyslaw Strzeminski (1893-1952).

In recent times, a number of artists have taken a stance towards, and built on, the ideas formulated by Strzeminski, author of "Unizm w malarstwie" / "Unism in Painting," "Teoria widzenia" / "The Theory of Seeing," "Druk funkcjonalny" / "Functional Printing," and "Kompozycja przestrzeni, obliczanie rytmu czasoprzestrzennego" / "The Composition of Space, the Calculation of Time-Space Rhythm" (with Katarzyna Kobro). This group of artists has included Stanislaw Fijalkowski (born 1922), Lech Kunka (1920-1978), Stefan Krygier (1923-1997), and Antoni Starczewski (1924-2000), all of whom were at one time linked to the Pracownia Plastyki Przestrzennej / Studio of Spatial Visual Arts headed by Wladyslaw Strzeminski. Fijalkowski, Kunka, Krygier and Starczewski all subsequently exposed their own students to the ideas of Strzeminski, which also continued to inspire their own work as artists.

"It is difficult to examine the output of Wladyslaw Strzeminski form a contemporary perspective without simultaneously considering the impact it has had on Poland's artistic culture," states the brochure published for the exhibition. "Strzeminski focused his mind on many issues, turning some into the object of detailed analysis while merely touching upon others. In stating that these four Lodz-based artists are or were followers of Strzeminski, we must simultaneously underline that the links and similarities are limited to a certain scope. In some cases they occur solely in single works or cycles, in others they appear solely at the outset, with the artists later developing their art in a direction different from that taken by Strzeminski. These artists embody highly differing artistic stances. The concepts they chose to explore render their conceptual and artistic positions separate and different. 'Unism in Painting' and the works related to it were the source for some, while others drew inspiration from 'The Theory of Seeing.' However, do these artists share something that simultaneously links them with Strzeminski? When established, the principles of 'unistic' painting marked the birth of a new, universal artistic language. Strzeminski was not one to reject the past entirely. Instead, he saw art history and knowledge thereof as a foundation for creative activity, a foundation that could not be ignored. He rejected one thing: traditional methods and models that sought to structure artistic activity. The case is similar with Fijalkowski, Kunka, Krygier, and Starczewski. They abandoned traditional means of expression, considering them insufficient and believing that they greatly limited the possibilities of expression. It can be said that through their work they fought for the autonomous rights of art, for ideas and actions that enriched the existing arsenal of expressive means, finally, for the right to employ forms allowing for creativity unfettered by convention. As with Strzeminski, rationality, logic and intellectual discipline were decisive to their creative process. They sacrificed sublimation and the liberation of emotions in favor of seeking out the best possible means of expressing their thought concepts. Examination of the each artist's achievements on their own reveals other highly interesting relations and links with the work of Strzeminski. When we look at these works today, through the perspective of at least a decade, or in some cases several decades, we can see clearly that these artists engaged in deep artistic dialogue with many of Strzeminski's works."

Exhibition opening: November 21, 2003, 1:00 p.m.

Municipal Gallery of Art - Willa Gallery
Miejska Galeria Sztuki - Galeria Willa
ul. Wolczanska 31, 90-607 Lodz
tel. (+48 42) 632 79 95, 632 24 16

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