I want to step out myself, go beyond, achieve the impossible, fulfil an
unprecedented task, realise a vision, create an absolutely convincing
painting, build it with decisions. A.W.
The Starmach Gallery in Krakow is currently presenting the exhibition Andrzej Pawłowski Invites You to His Birthday, prepared on the occasion of the artist’s centenary. The show brings together Pawłowski’s most important cycles – from Reptiles and Luxograms to Genesis – placing them in dialogue with works by artists closely associated with the Krakow Group.
photo: Marek Gardulski
The exhibition highlights the breadth of Pawłowski’s practice: from experiments with light-based photography to kinetic works and projects related to design. Works by artists connected with the Krakow art community accompany these pieces, offering a broader view of the environment in which the post-war avant-garde took shape.
Among the participating artists are several major figures, including Maria Jarema, Jerzy Nowosielski, Tadeusz Kantor and Jonasz Stern. A special place is given to the works of Andrzej Wróblewski, whose presence underscores the strong dialogue between the two artists and their lasting impact on post-war Polish art.
On view from November 7, 2025 to January 30, 2026 Curator: Robert Domżalski Starmach Gallery, ul. Węgierska 5, Krakow https://www.starmach.eu
This year, the Jerzy Stajuda Award for Art Criticism (2024) was presented to Dr. Magdalena Ziółkowska and Wojciech Grzybała, art historians, curators, and co-founders of the Andrzej Wróblewski Foundation, for their monographic volume “Andrzej Wróblewski. Exhibiting.” The Lifetime Achievement Award went to Stach Szabłowski.
As noted by the Award Committee — Aleksandra Semenowicz, Jan Stajuda, Jeremi Stajuda, Marcin Fedisz, Arkadiusz Półtorak, and Agnieszka Szewczyk — “This book is the result of a unique endeavor: an attempt to take a research-based look at the work of a renowned artist through the lens of its exhibition interpretations. (…) Over the course of 780 pages, the authors not only summarize the reception of Wróblewski’s oeuvre to date but also provide important foundations for further research and reinterpretation. The publication is critical in a double sense: it offers exploratory readings of Wróblewski’s works and exhibitions, while also presenting criticism and curatorial practice as tools of cultural inquiry.”
The Jerzy Stajuda Award, established in 1992, honors achievements in art criticism. It is funded by the family of painter and art critic Jerzy Stajuda (1936–1992) and by Zachęta — National Gallery of Art, with the Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts as co-organizer.
The book “Andrzej Wróblewski. Exhibiting” was co-published by Hatje Cantz Verlag in collaboration with the Adam Mickiewicz Institute.
A Hundred Nightly Spectres. Ghouls, Ghosts and Demons in Japanese and Western Art is currently on view at the Manggha Museum of Japanese Art and Technology in Kraków. The exhibition explores the phenomenon of yōkai—Japanese demons and spirits—by placing them alongside Slavic beliefs and Western concepts, revealing shared fears that transcend cultural boundaries.
Divided into four thematic sections, the exhibition features over 70 Japanese woodblock prints from the Feliks Jasieński collection, complemented by works of Polish and Western art from the 18th to the 21st century. Featured artists include Francisco Goya, Odilon Redon, Stanisław Wyspiański, Zofia Stryjeńska, and contemporary Polish artists such as Natalia Buchta Stochel, Krzysztof Gil, and Jakub Julian Ziółkowski.
A notable highlight is a sketchbook page by Andrzej Wróblewski showing a lantern above the grave of Oiwa—an iconic figure from Japanese folklore. Her tale of betrayal, tragic death, and return as a vengeful ghost is one of Japan’s most famous yūrei legends, embodying deeply rooted fears and a desire for justice.
Exhibition on view from June 1 to August 31, 2025 Curator: Dr hab. Anna Król, prof. ASP Manggha Museum of Japanese Art and Technology ul. Marii Konopnickiej 26, Kraków https://manggha.pl/wystawa/sto-nocnych-zjaw
The exhibition Don’t Ask About Poland, presented at the Centre of Contemporary Art “Znaki Czasu” in Toruń, offers a comprehensive overview of Polish art from the 20th and 21st centuries, based on the collection of Katarzyna and Wojciech Szafrański. The exhibition forms a multilayered reflection on history, national identity, and the social experience of recent decades, conveyed through the works of artists with strong and often ambiguous voices.
Among the works on display are pieces by key figures of 20th-century Polish art, including Henryk Stażewski, Andrzej Wróblewski, Tadeusz Kantor, Wojciech Fangor, Maria Jarema, and Jadwiga Maziarska. Their works are presented alongside expressive pieces from the 1980s by artists such as Ryszard Grzyb, Edward Dwurnik, and Jarosław Modzelewski, as well as iconic examples of 1990s critical art by Zbigniew Libera, Joanna Rajkowska, and Artur Żmijewski. The voice of the youngest generation of female artists is represented by Karolina Jabłońska, Martyna Czech, Ewa Juszkiewicz, and Agata Kus.
courtesy of the Centre of Contemporary Art “Znaki Czasu” in Toruń, photo: Wojciech Szabelski
The exhibition’s curator, Marta Smolińska, brings together different generations and artistic strategies into a moving narrative about Poland – as a space of tensions, memory, and resistance.
Exhibition on view from 21 February to 25 May 2025 Curator: Marta Smolińska Centre of Contemporary Art “Znaki Czasu” in Toruń Wały gen. Sikorskiego 13, Toruń https://csw.torun.pl
Andrzej Wróblewski.I, One Among Manyis the fourth exhibition devoted to the work of Andrzej Wróblewski organised by the Starak Family Foundation. The exhibition currently on show at Spectra Art Space is a continuation of the exhibition Andrzej Wróblewski (1927-1957).In the First Personheld as part of the Accompanying Events of the 60th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia in 2024. The exhibition received great international acclaim and The Artnewspaper considered it one of the most interesting accompanying events.
The exhibition, presented at Spectra Art Space in Warsaw, shows Wróblewski’s work in the context of the poetry of Tadeusz Różewicz, a private friend of the artist. The shared sensitivity of both artists, marked by wartime experiences and the struggle with the hardships of the first post-war years, has been juxtaposed by curator Ania Muszyńska, creating a very interesting dialogue between image and word.
In the exhibition space we can also familiarise ourselves with a fragment of a poem by Andrzej Wróblewski. Such a comparison of Wróblewski’s paintings with Różewicz’s poetry was made in 1957 by Konrad Nałęcki in his short film Opening and Closing Eyes.
The exhibition presents paintings exclusively from the collection of Anna and Jerzy Starak, which is the largest collection of the artist’s works, including those that have not been shown in Venice.
From December 6-8, 2024, the Andrzej Wróblewski Foundation, as a new major patron, participated in the 56th annual CIMAM conference held in Los Angeles. The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), the Hammer Museum and LACMA were the institutional hosts and co-organisers of the event under the theme ‘Sustainable Futures: How? When? For whom?’. Clara Kim was appointed chair of the international Contents Committee and was responsible, together with her team, for an intensive programme of lectures, panel debates, artist talks and workshops for curators of collections and directors of international exhibition institutions.
Three questions framed the perspectives for consideration and discussion: ‘How do museums deal with the tensions arising from ongoing cycles of crisis and change? What does this mean in the context of art institutions? How do museums put this into practice? And how can we take account of different contexts, cultural and economic?’, directing the attention of museum practitioners to contemporary issues that are alarming and require engagement in everyday institutional work.
A new Polish Art Gallery has opened at the National Museum in Poznań, marking a significant event for research on Andrzej Wróblewski’s work. For the first time in 76 years, The Emotional Content of Revolution is being presented in its entirety. The painting was previously displayed in full only once, at the Exhibition of Modern Art in the vestibule of the Palace of Art in Kraków, organized in late 1948 and early 1949. Wróblewski debuted at this exhibition as the youngest participant, showcasing works such as Earth, A Painting About the Horrors of War (Fish Without Heads), and The Sun and Other Stars.
By June 1949, Wróblewski had cut the canvas in half, creating Partisans (painted between June 13–19) on one half, and Station 45 / Station in the Recovered Territories (painted between September 10–15) on the other. The latter was displayed a few months later at the exhibition of the Self-Education Team during the Inter-School Exhibition of State Higher Art Schools in Poznań. In 1982, Station 45 / Station in the Recovered Territories was acquired for the collection of the National Museum in Poznań.
Meanwhile, Partisans has been in the National Museum in Poznań for several years as a deposit from the Wielkopolska Society for the Promotion of Fine Arts. At the owner’s request, and in cooperation with the Andrzej Wróblewski Foundation, the painting underwent conservation, including the removal of black paint that had covered the reverse. The artwork also received a new frame, identical to that of Station 45 / Station in the Recovered Territories, allowing for double-sided display. Currently, the figurative compositions are exhibited according to the artist’s intention, resulting in the separation of The Emotional Content of Revolution. It is worth noting that the museum plans to present the painting in its 1948 state in the coming years, enabling viewers to appreciate the entire composition.
These and other aspects of Andrzej Wróblewski’s double-sided canvases are discussed in Magdalena Ziółkowska’s essay, The Pictures Were Seen by Countless Staring Eyes. On the First Posthumous Exhibition of Andrzej Wróblewski in Three Parts, published in 2024 by the Andrzej Wróblewski Foundation and Hatje Cantz Verlag in the book Andrzej Wróblewski. Exhibiting.
The Polish Art Gallery displays both familiar pieces from the National Museum’s permanent exhibitions and deposits. These include works by prominent Polish artists such as Jacek Malczewski, Władysław Podkowiński, Stanisław Wyspiański, Maria Jarema, Tadeusz Kantor, and Jerzy Nowosielski.
The curators of the exhibition are Maria Gołąb, Agnieszka Skalska, Anna Borowiec, Arkadiusz Krawczyk, and Zuzanna Wagner, with the arrangement designed by Raman Tratsiuk.
The exhibition Change to come presents a unique selection of works by Polish artists that address social, political, and artistic changes. Among the pieces are works by Andrzej Wróblewski, which, in conjunction with creations by young contemporary artists, emphasize the role of artists as witnesses and creators of social transformation. The juxtaposition of historical works from the mid-20th century with contemporary pieces highlights the dialogue between generations and the ongoing commitment of Polish artists to current social issues.
The idea for the exhibition emerged in 2023 at the invitation of Marion Ackermann, Director General of Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden. The project was developed by Hanna Wróblewska in collaboration with curator Magdalena Komornicka.
Exhibition open from November 7, 2024 to March 16, 2025 Curator: Magdalena Komornicka Kunsthalle im Lipsiusbau – Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Dresden Georg-Treu-Platz 1, Dresden https://lipsiusbau.skd.museum/en/exhibitions/change-to-come/
The latest issue of the ‘Spotkania z Zabytkami’ quarterly magazine features an interview with Wojciech Grzybała and Magdalena Ziółkowska – co-founders of the Andrzej Wróblewski Foundation.
In the conversation entitled. ‘Death in Venice…’ they discuss the exhibition Andrzej Wróblewski. In the First Person accompanying this year’s La Biennale di Venezia and the significance of the city for the history of exhibiting the artist’s work – ‘this is the second, and not the first time, that Wróblewski’s canvases have been shown in Venice. In September 1959, three of them were presented by Ryszard Stanisławski at the Mostra di pittura polacca contemporanea,’ emphasises Wojciech Grzybała, ‘today, when almost 70 years have passed since the artist’s death, the exhibition Andrzej Wróblewski. In the First Person unquestionably confirms the presence of the artist’s works in the canon of post-war art. And at the same time, it opens it up to new avenues of interpretation. This is an extremely important moment in the international reception of his work.’
The co-founders talk about the challenging conservation of the works on paper – a recent project of the Foundation – as and about the remarkable resulting discoveries.
The interview is available in the paper version of the quarterly magazine ‘Spotkania z Zabytkami’ (July-September 3/2024) and online.
