Laznia Centre for Contemporary Art

Young Polish artists on tour is a cycle presenting the works of young Polish artists in European capital cities, which in 2011 was held in Berlin and Madrid. The aim of the project is to promote young artists on the one hand, and on the other to ask the question of how art can affect the image of our country. The reasons for its presence here are obvious: the aim of the exhibitions is to promote the Polish artistic scene during the Polish Presidency of the EU Council. The young artists were chosen for several reasons. Their art, which is neither connected with the struggle for liberty (as most of the Polish art from the 1980s), nor with defining the boundaries of freedom (the 90s), brings a new view and is a formal experiment. The works often allude to Polish and world art from the 70s, 80s, and 90s in this way they are a kind of modern rendering of historical motifs. The artists underline Polish virtues and mock national vices in a way which is both familiar and comprehensible. Their distance from the landmark date of 1989 releases them from the burden of historical heritage.

Each presentation of the Young Polish Artists On Tour project will vary from the others. Curators from each city are asked to choose 5 artists from the list, which makes every exhibition a unique event disclosing a different aspect of young Polish art.

The Madrid exhibition presents for the first time in Spain new works of Kama Sokolnicka, Zorka Wollny, Alicja Bielawska, Wojciech Bąkowski, Karolina Freino and Łukasz Ogórek. Some of them have been produced specifically for the exhibition. The participating artists work in the context of a research process that formulate their project, formalizing its presentation in several media like video, performance, drawing, collage, installation, sculpture and intervention in public space.

The Madrid exhibition has been developed in cooperation with espacio trapézio run by Pensart which embraces two-prong responsibility. Firstly, to position itself as a platform for professional artwork for young, emerging and artists with a potential for growth. Secondly, to open a dialogue with cultural agents within the city, the state and throughout the world in order to foster the improvement of the artistic context of Madrid. The location of espacio trapézio inside the San Antón market at the heart of the Chueca neighbourhood is one of its defining features. This feature highlights a proactive identity as a starting point for the investigation into the intersection between culture, economy, consumption, dialogue and gastronomy.

BIP

Municipal Institution of Culture