The exhibition takes its cue from the concept of debt and the current economic crisis plaguing much of the world today. It also attempts to consider the role of the poster in contemporary social and commercial culture, while paying tribute to the masters of the Polish Poster School.
Ola Niepsuj, exhibition curator explains that she selected a varied roster of artists to present a range of styles and techniques. She says, "The selection of artists was made with the aim of getting the most varied solutions while approaching the same topic. I have selected some renowned and award winning designers as well as the group of very talented younger artists". Many of the artists in the exhibition are represented by the Illo Gallery, co-founded by Poland's top illustrator Agata "Endo" Nowicka.
The official theme of the exhibition is represented by a single overarching statement:
Within the entrenched hierarchy of credit and debt, it is credit that is supposed to be liberating and allowing mobility, whereas debt is supposed to be constrictive to the point of imprisonment; credit is a form of abundance, and debt a form of lack.
The notion of debt has been divided into seven categories, including Debt as chance, Debt as gratitude, Debt as memory and Debt as repayment.
The undergroundzero festival is an initiative of the undergroundzero cooperative, which presents fresh projects from rising stars on the art, theatre, dance and performance scene in New York City. The undergroundzero festival was founded by Artistic Director Paul Bargetto in 2007 and has welcomed a number of independent artistic and commercial initiatives, including the Living Theatre, the festival venue. This year's edition takes place between the 29th of June-29th of July. This project is supported by the Association of Applied Graphic Designers and the ILLO agency representing and promoting the best of Polish illustration. The exhibition has been made possible thanks to the support of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute.
Artists in the exhibition: Ada Buchholc, Dawid Ryski, Tomasz Walenta, Arobal, Agata Dudek, Edgar Bąk, Anna Goszczyńska, HOMEWORK, Janek Dziaczkowski, Mirosław Gryń, Łukasz Rayski, Anna Niesterowicz, Piotr Socha, Paweł Jońca, Piotr Młodożeniec, Filip Pągowski, Olek Modzelewski, Agata Endo Nowicka, Piotr Jackowski, Jakub Jezierski, Ola Niepsuj, Daniel Horowitz, Tymek Jezierski, Zuza Miśko, Filip Zagórski, Rafał Szczepaniak.
Curators: Ola Niepsuj, Agata Endo Nowicka, Maria Zaleska
Consultation: Mikołaj Lewicki, Mateusz Halawa
Living Theatre 21 Clinton Street
New York City
www.undergroundzeronyc.org
Editor: Agnieszka Le Nart
Source: Press information