Muzeum Sztuki in Łódź is an art museum situated in Łódź – a city known to be the former Polish textile industry hub. The institution is split across three locations: ms1, ms2, and Herbst Palace Museum. Established in 1930 it remains to be one of the oldest existing and functioning museums with avant-garde art collections in the world.
The Museum’s primary focus revolves around studying and displaying 20th and 21st century art in a variety of contexts, accommodating progressive art interventions and enhancing the role of art as an element of social life through educational activities.
The core of the museum’s collection includes modern art pieces gathered both in Poland and abroad by the “a.r.” group between 1929–1932 and supplemented until 1938. The initiator and the main driving force behind assembling works of art donated by various artists was a painter and art theoretician – Władysław Strzemiński. Supported by Katarzyna Kobro – a sculptor, Henryk Stażewski – a painter, as well as Jan Brzękowski and Julian Przyboś – poets.
The Museum strives to incorporate the idea of art as a way to experience, feel and understand reality which was originally a dream of avant-garde artists – to make the creative lifestyle available for everyone.
Museum’s Locations
ms1 located on Więckowskiego 36 (Maurycy Poznański palace) is where the Neoplastic Room designed by Władysław Strzemiński can be found. That room used to be the heart of the entire exhibition, where the “a.r.” group kept their International Collection of Modern Art until 2008 when the collection moved to ms2. The Neoplastic Room itself was left in its original place and along with the space around it is currently used to display works by contemporary artists within the “Neoplastic Room Open Composition” initiative. The two floors of ms1 are used to feature temporary exhibitions that show interesting phenomena in contemporary art. The garden in the backyard is used for open air events, such as film screenings and concerts. Moreover, the building houses a library open to all visitors.
ms2 – Ogrodowa 19 – a former textile mill of Izrael Poznański is today used for experimental art interventions with the Collection of the 20th and 21st century. The Museum’s collection is formed around themes that exhibition curators consider relevant to the modern audience. While the ground floor is used for temporary exhibitions that tackle the avant-garde legacy, the rest of the building contains a dedicated space for workshops and other educational activities, as well as a multi-media room. There is also a coffee shop “Awangarda” and a bookshop.
Herbst Palace Museum (Przędzalniana 72) is a refurbished mansion formerly owned by industrial tycoons from Łódź – the Herbst family. It has become an exhibition space for the works of old maters (mostly from the 19th century) as well as palace interiors from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. You can also get to know a bit of the history of the Herbst family.
For more information, visit their website.
Opening hours: Monday Closed, Tuesday 10 am- 6 pm, Wednesday-Sunday 11 am- 7 pm
Muzeum Sztuki w Łodzi
ul. Więckowskiego 36
90-734 Łódź
Region: łódzkie
Phone: (+48 42) 633 97 90, 633 82 73
Fax: (+48 42) 632 99 41
www.msl.org.pl
Email: muzeum@msl.org.pl
Source: Muzeum Sztuki w Łodzi, compiled by HSz November 2018