"What a fabulous place we are in" are the words repeatedly spoken by Andrzej Mitan and Cezary Staniszewski during their performance in 1992. The title, with its message, is ironic. It signals, on one hand, the distance from the reality, and on the other the entanglement of artists in their aspirations to be elevated above everyday life. Geopolitical conditions are not without their relevance either - in the performance, the artists used a photo presenting the ‘architects’ of the 1945 Yalta conference, who established what would be the global spheres of influence after World War II, the issue which is coming back to us with all its impact now. The exhibition has been composed of the artworks donated to the Muzeum Sztuki in Łódź between 2008 and 2021.
Muzeum Sztuki in Łódź was established nearly a hundred years ago thanks to the dedication of the international avant-garde artists and activists. The crises of the then world, when the empires were collapsing and an alternative to the exploitative economic relations was rapidly sought after, was accompanied by a belief in progress and universal emancipation. The manifestation of this faith was reflected in the avant-garde art. The works donated to the collection represent an artistic expression, are a historical trace and are also a reflection of exhibitions and projects run by the Muzeum Sztuki in Łódź.
Artists: Zbynĕk Baladrán, Jan Bułhak, James Lee Byars, Jasmina Cibic, Céline Condorelli, Dom Mody Limanka, Assaf Gruber, Wiktor Gutt i Waldemar Raniszewski, Servie Janssen, Agnieszka Kalinowska, Tamás Kaszás, Leszek Knaflewski, Igor Kopystiansky, Svetlana Kopystiansky, Piotr C. Kowalski, Natalia L.L., Joanna Malinowska, Andrzej Mitan i Cezary Staniszewski, Magdalena Moskwa, Włodzimierz Pawlak, Zbigniew Rogalski, Gerhard Rühm, Teresa Tyszkiewicz, Zbigniew Warpechowski, Anna Zagrodzka i Karolina Wojtas, Włodzimierz Jan Zakrzewski
place: ms1, 43 Gdańska St
opening: March 18, 2022, Friday, at 6:00 pm
time: March 18 – May 15, 2022
curator: Anna Łazar
support: Daniel Muzyczuk
collaboration and spatial arrangement: Kacper Szalecki
design and typesettings: Rene Wawrzkiewicz
seat design: Bureau of Worthwile Activities (Pamela Bożek i Paweł Błęcki)
exhibition coordination: Martyna Dec
editorial coordination: Andżelika Bauer
communication coordinaton: Magda Milewska
Patron of the Muzeum Sztuki in Łódź:
Starak Family Foundation