Rynek by Józef Robakowski, courtesy of Galeria Arsenał
Following the artist’s first solo exhibition in America at the Ludlow 38 Gallery in New York in the Spring of 2011, the Arsenał Gallery in Białystok dedicates its first major show of the year to the iconic experimental and avant-garde multimedia artist, his versatile technique and interests, as well as his work as a curator.
The exhibition is the first presentation dedicated to Robakowski’s collaborative and relational work, emerging from his ongoing cooperation and dialogue with other artists. Through selected works and archive materials the exhibition reveals a significant aspect of the artist’s practice, not only as a filmmaker and visual artist, but also as an initiator, curator, and organizer of art groups, exhibitions, and artistic events.
Since the early 1960s, Robakowski has expressed a significant interest in interpersonal dialogue through the context of art as an inherent part of his work. The exhibition presents the artist as author, co-author, and producer of films and visual works: a significant body of work based on ideas of collaborative practice. The notable political dimension of Robakowski’s art is also displayed, specifically through pieces referring to the period of martial law in Poland (1981 - 83), such as "The Ware State / Państwo Wojny" from 1982. Robakowski is also presented as a creator of experimental work responding to the specificities of his context, obviously working outside the official museum and gallery system to present politically critical works. Important issues of trust, collective expressions, and shared experiences are shown through activities and actions initiated by the Exchange Gallery (Galeria Wymiany) established by the artist in his own apartment in Lodz in 1978.
The exhibition brings together films and video works such as "The Market / Rynek" from 1970 (in collaboration with Ryszard Meissner and Tadeusz Junak) and "Test I" from 1971, both produced within the framework of the Workshop of the Film Form (Warsztat Formy Filmowej); "Attention Light! / Uwaga, Swiatło!", 1981—2004 (collaboration with Paul Sharits and Wiesław Michalak); and "Art is Power / Sztuka to Potęga!" from 1985 (with music by Slovenian avant-garde group Laibach); The curatorial models and strategies of Józef Robakowski’s work are represented through documents and photographs depicting the activities of artistic collectives he belonged to, such as Zero 61 and the Workshop of the Film Form, as well as photographic documentation from the exhibition "Lochy Manhattanu" / "The Dungeons of Manhattan" (Łódź, 1989). The exhibition also includes an extensive video library featuring selected DVDs with films, videos, and television programs such as Robakowski’s films "Witkacy" (1980) and "Władysław Strzemiński: Construction of Vision / Konstrukcja Widzenia" (1993), "Choices: An Artist from Eastern Europe Speaks Out" by Marielle Nitoslawska (1987), a documentary film about Robakowski describing the situation of living and working in a state of war, and "Exulation: Oratorio for Katarzyna Kobro / Uniesienie – Oratorium dla K. Kobro" (2011). The set also presents a selection of books, catalogues and ephemera produced by and drawn from the collection of the Exchange Gallery in Łódź.
After New York and Bialystok, the exhibition is set to be shown in Germany at the ZKM (Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie) in Karlsruhe in May 2012. The collaboration between the latter institution and the Ludlow 38 and Arsenał Galleries resulted in the publication of a catalogue in three languages (English, Polish and German), published by Spector Books in Leipzig.
Exhibition curators: Michał Jachuła and Tobi Maier
Partners of the exhibition: The Adam Mickiewicz Institute in Warsaw; the CEC ArtsLink in New York, the MINI/Goethe-Institut Curatorial Residencies Ludlow 38 in New York and the ZKM w Karlsruhe
The exhibition opens on the 13th of January and runs until the 12th of February, 2012.
On Saturday, 14th of January, the Arsenal Gallery is holding a meeting with the artist at 11:00 (free admission).
Galeria Arsenał
ulica Adama Mickiewicza 2
Białystok
www.galeria-arsenal.pl
For more info on the exhibition go to www.galeria-arsenal.pl