Database

Meditations of Fibonacci + The Corduroy bunny | facing Katarzyna Kobro (1898–1951)

November 9 2018 – February 11 2019, Start and end dates


The exhibition presented at Wrocław Contemporary Museum is devoted to Katarzyna Kobro, one of the most outstanding contemporary sculptresses, marking the 120th anniversary of her birth. Due to the originality of her accomplishments, she used to be compared with Constantin Brâncuşi and Alberto Giacometti. Her oeuvre was a point of reference for many renowned contemporaries as well as representatives of younger generations.

Of importance for the conception of the exhibition is the analytical-structural perspective connected with Suzanne Preston Blier’s research into the phenomenon of small figurines as objects capable of relaxing the rigid social rules. It corresponds with children’s mascots that were designed and made by Kobro, which she sold to make a living after the second world war.

The title of the presentation refers to the Kobro’s fascination with mathematics and suggests a connection between her practice and Joseph Beuys’ work. Both of them were outstanding artists whose work had been tragically marked by war and history. In Beuys’ case, it resulted in the already classic performance How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare(1965), which has often been interpreted in the context of heroic attempts to allay the fear of death, get used to it, or as a transmission between liminal states. Kobro’s Corduroy Bunny (made in the 1940s) is a toy presented by the artist to her daughter Nina Strzemińska. This and other similar mascots hand sewn by the artist were full of expressiveness and far removed from commercial aesthetics; they seem to resonate with the practice of “soft sculptures” (Lucy Lippard’s term from 1967), which was important for Louise Bourgeois. They could also be viewed as a harbinger of the new arts and crafts movement, which have developed in recent years.

The exhibition also highlights the characteristic “superstructure” found in Kobro’s practice, theories and pedagogical work, e.g. her novel programmes for housewives that preceded Joseph Beuys’ concept of the social sculpture from the 1960s.

Featuring over 50 artists, the exhibition is intermedia or trance in character, opening up a space for multisensory perception. Apart from Katarzyna Kobro and some of the key avant-garde artists of the first half of the 20th century (including Maria Jarema, Henryk Wiciński, Wacław Szpakowski, Władysław Strzemiński), it shows works by representatives of subsequent generations, for whom Kobro was an important point of reference or a catalyst for affirmative, analytical or critical comments or interpretations. The horizon of the multimedia display is outlined by socially engaged works that attempt to interpret the traumas suffered by the progressive artist as well as outstanding meditative works.
 
Artists:
Krzysztof M. Bednarski + Anna Konik / Jan Berdyszak / Joseph Beuys / Gerhard Blum-Kwiatkowski / Hanna Brzuszkiewicz / Tatiana Czekalska + Leszek Golec / Wanda Czełkowska / Witosław Czerwonka + Leszek Brogowski / Wanda Gołkowska / Nicolas Grospierre / Izabella Gustowska / Emilia Grubba / Jerzy Grzegorski / Maria Jarema / Sylwia Jakubowska / Anna + Krystian + Katarzyna A. + [K]rystian Jarnuszkiewicz / Katarzyna Kobro / Jarosław Kozakiewicz / Monika Krygier + Stefan Krygier + Włodzimierz Pietrzyk / Aurelia Mandziuk-Zajączkowska + Alicja Kujawska / Edward Krasiński / Sławomir Lipnicki + Anna Zelmańska-Lipnicka / Andrzej Mitan / Jerzy Mizera + Marek Sarełło / Anita Oborska-Oracz / Andrzej Paruzel + Małgorzata Paruzel + Piotr Weychert / Leon Podsiadły / Roman Pniewski / Katarzyna Podpora / Józef Robakowski + Janusz Zagrodzki / Robert Rumas + Zbigniew Libera / Henryk Stażewski / Maciej Szańkowski / Władysław Strzemiński / Stefan Wegner / Henryk Wiciński / Andrzej Wojciechowski + Stanisław Dróżdż / Iwona Teodorczuk-Możdżyńska + Agnieszka Zgirska + Mateusz Sękiewicz / Dobrochna Surajewska + Andrzej Karolewicz / Wacław Szpakowski / Ludmiła Stehnova / Agata Zielińska-Głowacka / Marta Branicka + Mikołaj Robert Jurkowski + Joanna Gugała-Ponikowska / Piotr Grdeń + Karina Dzieweczyńska / Jacek Staniszewski + Krzysztof Wróblewski + Maciej Sieńkowski / Bolesław Utkin

Works from the collections of:
Ewa Sapka-Pawliczak, National Museum in Cracow, Starmach Gallery in Cracow, Królikarnia – Xawery Dunikowski Museum of Sculpture / Branch of the National Museum in Warsaw, Centre of Polish Sculpture in Orońsko, collections of the artists and artists’ families, Antoni Michalak’s collection, Dariusz Bieńkowski’s collection, Krzysztof Musiał’s collection, private collections, Pola Magnetyczne gallery + Archaeology of Photography Foundation in Warsaw, Art Centre of the EL gallery in Elbląg (Karina Dzieweczyńska and Piotr Grdeń), Marika Kuźmicz’s Arton Foundation from Warsaw, Anna Konik, Włodzimierz Pietrzyk, In Situ Contemporary Art Foundation in Sokołowsko, Regional Museum in Toruń, National Gallery of Art in Sopot, Faculty of Fine Arts of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk, Łaźnia Contemporary Arts Centre in Gdańsk
 
Exhibition design:
Dorota Grubba-Thiede, Maria Zgirska, Mateusz Michalczyk, artists and the MWW team
 
The first edition of the exhibition was presented by the National Art Gallery in Sopot from 27 April to 15 August 2018.

Curator: dr Dorota Grubba-Thiede

Download files: PL: Dorota Grubba-Thiede, Medytacje Fibonacciego + Sztruksowy zając | wobec Katarzyny Kobro (1898–1951)

Muzeum umění Olomouc 2011-2024