White is White and Black is Black

opening: 20/11/2015 at 7:00 PM exhibition until 27.12.2015 Rafał Bujnowski, Jakub Ciężki, Aneta Grzeszykowska, Joanna Janiak, Grzegorz Klaman, Leszek Knaflewski, Szymon Kobylarz, Piotr C. Kowalski, Kamil Kuskowski, Artur Malewski, Agata Michowska, Hanna Nowicka, Anna Orlikowska, Zbigniew Rogalski, Artur Rozen, Aleksandra Ska, Łukasz Skąpski, Piotr Skiba, Łukasz Surowiec, Waldemar Wojciechowski curator: Kamil Kuskowski opening hours: Mon-Fri 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. free entry
Rafał Bujnowski (born 1974, Wado­wi­ce); painter, graphic artist, author of artistic actions, installations and video art. In 1993-1995 Bujnowski studied architecture at the Cracow University of Technology, and then transferred to the Faculty of Painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow. Together with Marek Firek, Marcin Maciejowski, Wilhelm Sasnal and Józef “Kurosawa” Tomczyk, Bujnowski formed the Ładnie Group. In 1998-2001, he ran the Otwarta Gallery in Cracow, whose exhibiting space was furnished with billboards from around Cracow. In 2004, Bujnowski visited the NY Art in General and Zug in Switzerland as part of a research fellowship. In 2005, Bujnowski won the international art award Euro­pas Zukunft. Lives and work in Cracow. Associated with the Raster Gallery. Jakub Ciężki (born 1979, Lublin); painter. In 1998-2003 studied at the Faculty of Arts, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin. Graduated with honours, having prepared his graduation work in the studio of Professor Jacek Wojciechowski. After graduation, Ciężki continuously takes part in art competitions, winning numerous awards, such as the Grand Prix at the 40th Painting Biennial Bielska Jesień 2011. Ciężki has developed an individual painterly idiom, characterised by precisely elaborated detail, geometrized composition or monochromatic background. His works often feature elements of industrial landscape, which are given an abstract aspect. Lives in Lublin, where he works at the Faculty of Painting and Drawing II, at his home academy. Aneta Grzeszykowska (born 1974, Warsaw); multimedia artist, working primarily with photography. Having graduated in 1999 from the Faculty of Graphic Arts, Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, she embarked on artistic collaboration with Jan Smaga. They created joint photographic series (Plans), photo objects (YMCA) and multimedia projects (Reflection). Since 2005, Grzeszykowska has been working on her own, exploiting the capacities of digital intervention into the photographic and cinematographic medium, which resulted in such works as The Album, Portraits or Untitled Still Films. Winner of numerous awards and honours, e.g. Paszport Polityki for Visual Arts in 2014. Collaborates with the Raster Gallery. Joanna Janiak (born 1955, Leszno); in 1980-1985 studied philosophy and the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań and the University of Warsaw. In 1991-2005, worked as a journalist and TV producer specialising in art and cultural journalism. Screenwriter and director of documentaries, impressionistic shorts about art, features and educational series devoted to art. Collaborated with a range of channels and media belonging to the national public broadcaster: the Poznań TVP centre, Polish Radio 1 and 2, Education Channel and the Kids and Teens Channels. Author of texts about art, written for catalogues and art journals. Since 2004, Janiak has been working with Piotr C. Kowalski on the series Megabytes of Painting, a project inspired by various imaging techniques and the relationship between the traditional painting and the digital image. They are also co-authors of the Blueberry Fresco at the Higher School of Humanities and Journalism in Poznań (2004) and the exhibition-project Graniczna 13b (2005). Since 2009, they have been working jointly on the series Frosty Paintings. Grzegorz Klaman (born 1959, Nowy Targ); author of installations, carries out art undertakings in the public space, curator and teacher at the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk, from which he graduated in 1985. Founder of the Wyspa Gallery (1985), co-originator of the concept of The Open Studio (1992). Managed the Old City Bathhouse in 1994-1998 as well as the Centre for Contemporary Art Łaźnia in 1998. Since 1994, Klaman is the president of the Wyspa Progress Foundation. Also, the artist founded and ran the Modelarnia (2002) and the Wyspa Institute of Art – together with Aneta Szyłak on the premises of the former Gdańsk Shipyard. In the 1980s, Klaman won renown as author of land art actions and traditional sculpture, frequently collaborating with sculptor Kazimierz Kowalczyk. His popularity in the 1980s was also due to the wooden figures he made using simple tools, such as an axe or saw. Then, the late 1980s saw him work on large-scale spatial arrangements. One of the trademarks of his work in the 1990s was the use of anatomical preparations, fragments of human body preserved in the solution of spirit and formalin. Many of his works are intrinsically bound to a particular location of the most recent Polish history, the Gdańsk Shipyard. Leszek Knaflewski (1960-2014, Poznań); interdisciplinary and multimedia artist. Graduated in 1985 from the Higher State School of Fine Arts (now University of Arts) in Poznań, in the painting studio of Professor Jerzy Kałucki. In the 1980s, Knaflewski collaborated with the art group Koło Klipsa. Worked at the Faculty of Multimedia Communication, Academy of Fine Arts in Poznań, running the Audiosfera studio. He was also employed and the Institute of Fine Arts, Faculty of Arts, University of Zielona Góra. His work explored image in all its varieties and the domain of sound. Author of several dozen works, exhibited both in Poland and abroad. From 2003, Knaflewski collaborated with the Piekary Gallery in Poznań. Szymon Kobylarz (born 1981, Świętochłowice); painter, creator of installations, sculptures and objects. Studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice, where he currently works as a lecturer. As a student, he conducted profound critical analyses in painting, exploring its capacities for creating representational illusion, and readily proceeded from painting into the third dimension, often combining the two. In the recent years, the artist has become interested in the issues of science, technology and military science. Kobylarz collaborates with Żak Branicka Gallery in Berlin, while his works may be found in the collections of such institutions as the Museum of Upper Silesia in Bytom. Piotr C. Kowalski (born 1951, Mieszków); painter, holds the title of a full professor. Completed graduate studies at the Higher State School of Fine Arts in Poznań (now the University of Arts) in 1973-78. In 2010-2014, head of the Department of Painting, Faculty of Painting and New Media at the Academy of Arts in Szczecin. In 2014-2015, Kowalski ran the Guest Studio at the Department of Painting, Faculty of Painting and Sculpture, Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław. Until 2010, Kowalski was also involved in academic teaching at the Institute of Design, Koszalin University of Technology. Currently, Kowalski is the head of the 10th Painting Studio, Faculty of Artistic Education, University of Arts in Poznań. Author of a number of painting series, in the course of which he developed his own technique drawing on a wide range of external factors, such as atmospheric conditions, (Frosty Paintings), elements of natural life (Live Nature) or human actions (Walk-over Paintings). Kamil Kuskowski (born 1973, Zakopane); studied at the Władysław Strzemiński Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź, at the Faculty of Textile and Fashion (1995-2000), from which he graduated with honours. Currently the dean at the Faculty of Painting and New Media, Academy of Arts in Szczecin, where he also founded the Academy of Arts Gallery – Zona Sztuki Aktualnej in Szczecin. Vice-president of the Contemporary Art Association “Zachęta” in Szczecin. Since 2015, chairman of the Programme Council at the Centre for Polish Sculpture in Orońsko. Painting is often found in his oeuvre, not only in the formal terms of a medium, but also in the reflection on the history of painting or, even broader, on the institutional framework of art. Apart from painting, the artist also creates installations and video art. Collaborates with the Piekary Gallery. Agata Michowska (born 1964, Wysokie Mazowieckie); sculptor, author of videos, installations, photographs and poetry. In 1985-1990, Michowska studied sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznań. Works at the Faculty of Painting and New Media, Academy of Arts in Szczecin, where she runs the Studio of Multimedia Actions. Lives and works in Poznań. Artur Malewski (born 1975, Tomasz Mazowiecki); graduated from the Faculty of Visual Education, Władysław Strzemiński Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź. His works very often employ literal quotations from everyday life, revealing their extraordinary, irrational side. The artist often reconstructs objects and items encountered in the daily pursuits, in the media, photographs in newspapers: found in the subconscious of popular culture, as it were. An important motif in his work is tracing the links between people and animals, looking for animal traits in people, and human traits in animals. Works at the Faculty of Painting and New Media, Academy of Arts in Szczecin, where he runs the 5th Painting Studio. Malewski is both professionally and artistically associated with the Szczecin milieu. Hanna Nowicka (born 1962, Szczecin); contemporary artist, working with photography, painting, installations, objects and video. Studied at thee Higher State School of Fine Arts (now Academy of Fine Arts) in Gdańsk, at the Faculty of Painting and Graphic Arts, developing her graduation work in the studio of Professor Kazimierz Ostrowski. In 1996, Nowicka obtained doctoral degree in Fine Arts. From 1987 to 2013 worked as an academic teacher in the Kiejstut Bereźnicki painting studio at her alma mater. Since then, she has become a professor and head of the 4th Image Studio at the Faculty of Painting and New Media, Academy of Arts in Szczecin. Anna Orlikowska (born 1979, Łódź); author of photographs, videos and installations. In 1999-2004, studied at the Faculty of Graphic Art and Painting, Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź. In 2006, she received the Deutsche Bank Foundation Award as part of the competition Spojrzenia. In her works, the Orlikowska addresses the issue of transience. She is interested in life and its everyday disorderliness – the constant changes and transformations. A characteristic trait of her oeuvre is that she plays with conventions and forms of art. Using simple artistic devices, she seeks to make art itself beautiful, which in this case means making it visible by lending importance and significance to the usually overlooked fragments of reality. Orlikowska works at the Faculty of Painting and New Media, Academy of Arts in Szczecin, where she runs the Studio of Multimedia Actions. Also professionally and artistically associated with the Szczecin milieu. Zbigniew Rogalski (born 1974, Dąbrowa Białostocka); painter, photographer and installation artist. In 1999, graduated from the painting studio of Professor Jerzy Kałucki at the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznań. From 2000 to 2002, Rogalski and Hubert Czerepok combined their efforts as the Magisters duo, working chiefly with photography and video. In 2006-2008, the artist collaborated with Michał Budny. As an individual artist, Rogalski often employs the medium of painting, though he can exploit the photographic experience with equal ease. His works address human perception, differences in the perception of reality or the creative act itself. Winner of the Eugeniusz Geppert Competition (2001). Rogalski works at the Faculty of Painting and New Media, Academy of Arts in Szczecin, where he runs the 1st Image Studio. Associated with the Raster Gallery in Warsaw. Artur Rozen (born 1985, Szczecin); graduate of the Faculty of Management and Economics at the University of Szczecin. Since 2011 a student at the Faculty of Painting and New Media, Academy of Arts in Szczecin. Debuted at the In Out Festival, organised by the Centre for Contemporary Art Łaźnia in Gdańsk, where he received an honorary mention. His works employ such media as video, installation or object. In 2013, Rozen stayed on a scholarship at the Universitatea De Arta Si Design, Cluj-Napoka in Romania, while in 2014 he took part in the mobile art residency Focus+Indonesia. In 2015, his works were exhibited at a solo exhibition at the Center for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle in Warsaw. Aleksandra Ska (born 1975, Łódź); author of installations, objects and video art. Works at the Faculty of Painting and New Media, Academy of Arts in Szczecin, where she runs the Studio of Sculpture and Spatial Projects. In 2007 she was rewarded with Grand Prix at Przeciąg Festival, in 2011 she was Młoda Sztuka award winner of Głos Wielkopolski in the field of visual arts. Ministry of Culture and National Heritage scholarship holder in 2007, 2011 and 2014. She took part in the art residencies in the  Egon Schiele Art Centrum in Czech Republic in 2011 and at the Triangle Art Association, New York City, USA in 2013. Her oeuvre often refers to the spheres of sexuality and the subconscious, female in particular. The artist takes on fetishism, demonstrating the potential of seduction, charm and attraction not only in the visual but also haptic (tactile) sense. She also interested in variedly construed sexuality (again, with particular focus on the female one) and corporeality. In her installations, Ska also introduces elements which are disturbing, evoke anxiety, dread and panic, all of which have their roots in the subconscious and the dream world. Her most recent projects address issues on the juncture of art and science. Lives in Poznań, where she collaborated with the Piekary Gallery. Łukasz Skąpski (born 1958, Katowice); author of installations, objects, films, videos and photographs. Studied at the Faculty of Painting, Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow. His works to date addressed a range of issues: in the 1990s his interests focused on light and its metaphysical associations, he has also constructed semi-commercial instruments incorporating optical elements, which nevertheless were given a conceptual significance. Founding member of the Azorro group. At the same time, Skąpski created video films which primarily addressed social and political issues. Works a the Faculty of Painting and New Media, Academy of Arts in Szczecin, where he heads the Department of Photography and Experimental Film. Lives and works in Szczecin. Piotr Skiba (born 1980, Wrocław); studied at the Faculty of Painting, Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław, where he obtained his diploma in 2006. His oeuvre encompasses painting, photography, installation and video art. Skiba is an artist who easily identifies art’s stylistic tropes, as well as its epistemological and historiographic digressions. Award winner at the Eugeniusz Geppert Competition and Samsung Art Master in 2005, also holder of the scholarship of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. Lecturer at the Faculty of Painting and New Media, Academy of Arts in Szczecin, where he co-runs the 7th Image Studio. Lives and works in Wrocław. Skiba collaborates with the Gallery Zona Sztuki Aktualnej. Łukasz Surowiec (born 1985, Rzeszów); interdisciplinary artist, sculptor, performance artist, author of videos and originator of social undertakings. Studied at the Faculty of Sculpture, Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow, at the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznań and the Univeristy of Arts in Berlin. His oeuvre is diversified, both in terms of form and content. His artistic work, focusing on topical social issues, takes him sometimes beyond the premises of official art institutions. Also, the fringe of social realities is another area where Surowiec directs his attention. When working with people ousted to the margins, he adopts a socially committed position, initiating a process which may impact the future social transformations. The artist is associated with Art Agenda Nova in Cracow and the Centre for Contemporary Art Kronika in Bytom. Waldemar Wojciechowski (born 1958, Gorzów Wielkopolski); painter, graphic artist, author of installations and photographer. Studied at the Higher State School of Fine Arts in Poznań (now the University of Arts), and subsequently obtained a doctoral degree at the Faculty of Painting, Graphic Arts and Sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts (the previous school’s successor) in Poznań. Since 2010, Wojciechowski has been an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Painting and New Media, Academy of Arts in Szczecin, heading the Department of New Media. Vice-chairman of the Council of the National Museum in Szczecin. Founder and vice-president of the Contemporary Art Association “Zachęta” in Szczecin (since 2004), also a founder of the OFFicyna Association and the independent gallery Miejsce Sztuki OFFicyna (1998). Author of 21 solo exhibitions and contributor to over 100 collective art shows in Poland and abroad.
Co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage from the Culture Promotion Fund
media patronage:

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