The exhibition of works by Krystyna Wojtyna-Drouet – who celebrated her 100th birthday in January 2026 – presents the body of work, spanning over seventy years, of one of the key figures of the Polish school of textile art. Her works, like those of other female artists associated with this significant phenomenon in post-war Polish art, are characterised by an experimental approach to form and material, with a focus on the visual qualities and texture of the weave. The graduates of Eleonora Plutyńska’s studio at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, who formed this circle, wove their textiles by hand, using unusual materials such as partially degreased, hand-spun sheep’s wool, hemp or sisal. These textiles, which transcended the boundaries of the traditional medium, brought international success to the Polish delegation at the 1st Textile Biennale in Lausanne in 1962.
Krystyna Wojtyna-Drouet (b. 1926) – a textile artist and painter, a representative of the first generation of the Polish school of textile art. Between 1946 and 1953, she studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw (graduating from Eleonora Plutyńska’s studio). She took part in the 1st, 4th and 5th International Textile Biennales in Lausanne. In 1975, she took part in the 1st International Textile Triennial in Łódź, and in 1978 in the International Quadriennale of Decorative Arts in Erfurt. Her works have been exhibited in Poland and abroad, including in Oslo, Leipzig, Buenos Aires, Havana, Chicago and Cairo. She has created over 350 textiles. Her tapestries can be found, amongst others, in the collections of the National Museum in Warsaw, the Central Museum of Textiles in Łódź, the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, the Musée Jean-Lurçat de la Tapisserie Contemporaine in Angers, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and in private collections both in Poland and abroad. She is the recipient of the Gold Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis (2023). In 2025, she was awarded an honourable mention in the third edition of the Prof. Stanisław Trzeszczkowski Award, presented by the Warsaw District of the Association of Polish Artists (ZPAP) with the support of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.
Ekspozycja czynna od 20 lutego do 4 kwietnia 2026 roku, Zachęta – Narodowa Galeria Sztuki w Warszawie.
