HARMONIES | How art connects with the world

HARMONIES | How art connects with the world

PIĘTRO_2.0
11.12.2024–8.01.2025

organization: Fundacja Nowa UAP
exhibition concept: Piotr Grzywacz
curators: Bogumiła Jung, Mateusz Wróblewski
arrangement design: Tomasz Agaciński, Monika Kaźmierska 
coordination: Karolina Cieślak, Małgorzata Ratajczak
implementation: Tomasz Agaciński, Monika Kaźmierska, Jarosław Jasik, Tomasz Kochański, Dariusz Zajączkowski

The exhibition presents a set of situations that arose at the intersection of artistic, design and exhibition activities at the Magdalena Abakanowicz University of the Arts Poznan. Their common denominator is not only interdisciplinarity, but also the international reach of the generated message and the resulting commercialization potential. The dialogue of ideas and forms often requires appropriate entourage, enabling their materialization and presentation at the level of current global standards. This refers primarily to the expectations that the modern recipient places in the phenomenon that we call the “first impression”, and which, perhaps never before in the history of the world, plays a decisive role in the final “acceptance” or “rejection” of the rhetoric proposed by the creator.

Whatever is created in the spirit of forming material heritage must have a chance to be materially expressed and survived, to live to see a new context located in an unknown future, and to be able to preserve and read the trace it will leave. The common feature of the presented objects is their uniqueness as opposed to temporality. And the nature of the presentation creates contextuality in both visual and functional dimensions.

The title HARMONIES refer primarily to the shaping of mutual relations between works that were created independently of each other, as a result of various processes and imperatives. Wisława Szymborska’s words: “In the Old Master’s landscape, trees have roots under oil paint” could serve as a motto here. They reflect the nature of the layered overlapping of means of expression, in a symbiotically intensifying way, emphasizing the power of influence of each one individually and all together on the recipient. This happened thanks to the happy conjunction of creators and favorable circumstances that allowed for understanding not only within the University, but, more importantly, gave our voice the power to convince in dialogue with business representatives.

There would be no projects or exhibitions shown here if it were not for the trust placed in us. The trust of those who understand that art never takes away energy. It always increases it. Regardless of whether it is the energy flowing from intense reflection or the pleasure of communing with traditionally understood beauty.

We pay attention to the latter especially in situations relating to our everyday surroundings. Bernard of Clairevaux warned almost nine centuries ago that the failure to cultivate beauty inevitably leads to the worship of ugliness. The photographic reports presented here from the exhibitions “UAP – collective”, “Small pleasures”, “Timeless” and “The Garden of Earthly Delights” bring back memories of activities carried out by the inter-faculty Institute for the Implementation of Ideas. They seem to reflect the spirit of cooperation and dialogue described above between curators and exhibition creators, authors of objects and representatives of institutions ordering these events. They are also an example of good practices of cooperation between an art university and entrepreneurs, as well as a testimony to the increasing influence of our scientific and teaching staff on the standards applicable in the economy. The organic work we undertake, convincing more and more recepients to the results of our research and creative activities, results in the penetration into the collective consciousness of the values ​​inherent not only in the objects themselves, but also in their intriguing selection.

List of exhibitions mentioned in the curatorial text:

“UAP – collective” exhibition
The exhibition was part of the Łódź Design Festival 2022
Łódź Art Center
Organization: IWI | UAP
Curators: Mateusz Wróblewski, Monika Kaźmierska, Tomasz Agaciński

“Small Pleasures” exhibition
The exhibition was part of the Łódź Design Festival 2023
Łódź Art Center
Organization: IWI | UAP
Curators: Julia Błaszczyńska, Mateusz Wróblewski

“Timeless” exhibition
The exhibition was carried out as part of Warsaw Home & Contract 2023
Ptak Warsaw Expo
Organization: IWI | UAP
Curators: Mateusz Wróblewski, Dorota Januszek

“The Garden of Earthly Delights” exhibition
The exhibition was carried out as part of Warsaw Home & Contract 2024
Ptak Warsaw Expo
Organization: IWI | UAP
Curators: Mateusz Wróblewski | Michał Filipiak

People whose works were presented at the above-mentioned exhibitions:

Tomasz Agaciński
Izabela Brola-Cieśluk
Paulina Buczyńska
Justyna Burkiewicz
Michał Filipiak
Magdalena Grenda
Wojciech Hora
Dorota Januszek
Magdalena Jugo
Bogumiła Jung
Katarzyna Karpierz
Monika Kaźmierska
Marcin Konicki
Wiesław Koronowski
Maciej Kozłowski
Aleksander Kuczma
Katarzyna Laskowska
Joanna Leciejewska
Joanna Lisiecka
Tomasz Matuszewski
Wojciech Mazur
Igor Mikoda
Jacek Mikołajczak
Patrycja Mikołajczak
Martyna Pająk
Małgorzata Paruch-Piotrowska
Bartłomiej Pawlak
Jakub Rożnowski
Mateusz Słociński
Łukasz Stawarski
Wojciech Tężycki
Karolina Tylka-Tomczyk
Marzena Wolińska
Mateusz Wróblewski
Władysław Wróblewski
Martyna Zawieja

Among the scientific and teaching staff taking an active part in research and development projects carried out at the Magdalena Abakanowicz University of the Arts Poznan are included:

Paulina Buczyńska
Justyna Burkiewicz
Michał Filipiak
Magdalena Grenda
Dorota Januszek
Magdalena Jugo
Katarzyna Karpierz
Marcin Konicki
Katarzyna Laskowska
Joanna Leciejewska
Joanna Lisiecka
Tomasz Matuszewski
Wojciech Mazur
Jacek Mikołajczak
Patrycja Mikołajczak
Martyna Pająk
Małgorzata Paruch-Piotrowska
Bartłomiej Pawlak
Jakub Rożnowski
Mateusz Słociński
Łukasz Stawarski
Karolina Tylka-Tomczyk
Marzena Wolińska
Mateusz Wróblewski