Poland

National Pavilion

Polonia

Operating on three distinct levels, this installation produces a multi-faceted experience. Firstly, artists were invited to showcase intriguing, original, and trends in contemporary Polish art. On a deeper level, the artists were encouraged to reflect on a pivotal archetype in European culture—the biblical story of St. John and his death at the request of Salome. This narrative holds particular significance to Malta, given its Catholic heritage and the island being home to Caravaggio’s masterwork “The Beheading of St John the Baptist.” In this light, the artists have recontextualised the John and Salome archetype through a contemporary lens.

Curator

Krzysztof Stanisławski

Born in 1956, he graduated from Warsaw University. A critic of art and film, curator, editor-in-chief in artistic magazines, director of Centre of Contemporary Art in Toruń, since 2020. In 1978, he published his first critiques. Till now circa 1500 articles. He published 30 authors books, including books on Polish, Lithuanian and Belarusian art, monographs on Werner Herzog, Volker Schlöndorff, Andrzej Wajda and Tony Cragg. Curator of over 250 exhibitions (since 1987), including “Open Window” (Pretoria), “1st Quadrienale of Lithuanian Art” (Vilnius), “Andrzej Wajda” (Hong Kong), “Kunst der Freiheit” (Berlin), also “Sean Scully” and “Tony Cragg” in Toruń.

Artist/s

Ryszard Grzyb

Born 1956, in Sosnowiec, painter, poet and graphic designer. In 1976-81, he was a student of Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław and in Warsaw. He was a member of artist’s group “Gruppa”. In 1983-87, Grzyb painted large tempera compositions on cardboard. In 1987, he changed his technique to oil on canvas. His work is characterised by jovial colours and broad lines painted around the edges of various objects. His paintings are in the collections of the National Museums and many District Museums plus in private collections in Poland and abroad. In 2010 Grzyb won Jan Cybis Award.

Zdzisław Nitka

Born 1962, he studied art in Wrocław Academy of Fine Arts, 1982-87. Since 2011 holds his own class at his alma mater as a professor. He is a painter, drawer and graphic designer, author of painting happenings. He is the author of numerous solo exhibitions in Warsaw, Nottingham, Szczecin, New York City, Radford, Brussels, Cracow, Poznań, Wiesbaden, Wrocław, Saarbrucken, Katowice, Gdańsk. Nitka participated in important group exhibitions in Poland and abroad since 1985. His paintings are in the collections of the museums in Wrocław, Katowice, Poznań, Szczecin, and in private collections in Poland, Germany, France and the USA.

Krzysztof Skarbek

Born 1958, he graduated of Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław in 1985. Since 2012 he has been a full professor. He runs a diploma painting studio at the Faculty of Painting. Vice-dean of the Faculty of Painting and Sculpture in the years 2008-12. He deals with painting, video art, actions and installations. He took part in 400 collective exhibitions and presented his works at 60 individual exhibitions. His paintings are in private and museum collections in Poland and abroad. Awards: Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem; Medal for Merit to Culture Gloria Artis; Golden Cross of Merit.

Zbigniew Maciej Dowgiałło

Born 1961, he graduate of the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts, he’s a painter, but also a film director, a scriptwriter, a set designer and a creator of 2D and 3D animation. In the 1980s he was the precursor and the leading representative of the New Expressionism. His paintings were presented in the most important exhibition of 80s: in Norblin Factory and in the National Museum in Warsaw. Since 1987 he has co-operated with Anna Gruszczyńska, creating visions of the art of the future-baroque and cosmic paintings and architectural designs of the cosmic era.

Piotr Dumała

Born 1956, graduated of Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. He is a film director, animator. While training to be a sculptor, he discovered that scratching images into painted plaster is a way to create animations. This is only one technique called destructive animation, where one image is erased (in this case, painted over) and re-drawn to create the next frame in the sequence. William Kentridge is another artist who works like that. Dumała’s “Franz Kafka” won the Grand Prix at Animafest Zagreb, and “Hipopotamy” received Grand Prize at 2014 Ottawa Festival and was nominated to Oscar.

Artwork

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