Joanna Malinowska, an artist permanently based in New York, was chosen as one of ten artists to participate in the exhibition Broadway Morey Boogie. The artists' works were displayed along New York's Broadway, from Columbus Circle to 166th Street.
Broadway Morey Boogie was co-curated by Pascal Spengemann, the director of one of the most prestigious contemporary art galleries worldwide – Marlborough Chelsea. The gallery was founded in 1946 in London, and now represents such artists as Magdalena Abakanowicz, Claudio Bravo, Richard Estes, Arnaldo Pomodoro, Manolo Valdés, and Zao Wou-Ki.
Spengemann stressed the fact that the show is not intended for a select audience, but it is to appeal to all passers-by. The curator explained:
We chose Broadway because it offers a ready framework for sculptures in the heart of Manhattan. There is also a history of art exhibition there. It is accessible to many people, in a number of settings. From Columbus Circle, which is the site of many corporate buildings, through Columbia University's surroundings, to the residential sections of Broadway. Each of these locations generates a different atmosphere, and hence a different background and context for a work of art.
Spengemann expressed a lot of enthusiasm towards Malinowska's art. He pointed out the fact that her sculpture was set up in Columbus Circle (the location of, among others, Time Warner Center, Trump International Hotel and Tower, and the New York CNN branch), one of the most prominent, busy squares in New York. He also emphasised the original concept of the artist, whose work portrayed a bear:
A bear with a camera hanging on its neck is like a tourist visiting the city. It comes from a different place, from Yukon, the “wild West.” It was taken out of his original context and moved to New York. I think this is an extremely attractive sculpture and will resonate with people.
When commenting on her sculpture Chronicle of the Latter World, the Brooklyn-based artist said that her:
inspiration came from a long journey across Canada, all the way to the Yukon region, which was once a destination for gold miners from all over the world. And over there, near the old mines, where towns used to be located, on the forest borders, one can nowadays find a lot of those kinds of monuments, recalling the old gold rush times. My sculpture refers to them. It doesn't fit in Broadway at all, but I think it it that contrast that can make it more noticeable.
The grey sculpture, whose only colour accent was a red camera strap, was based on a steel structure covered with cement. It was almost five metres tall and weighed over two and half tons. The artist wanted the bear to face the nearby monument of Christopher Columbus, however the organisers did not agree to that. “Maybe it is because the bear holds a stone and it would look as though he is targeting Columbus”, the artist said jokingly.
Embeded gallery style
display gallery as slider
Joanna Malinowska was born in Gdynia in 1972. She has been based in the United States since 1994. She graduated from the Fine Arts Department of the Rutgers University, and later received an MFA degree from Yale University. Her works are exhibited at, for instance, Canada Gallery in Manhattan. She took part in the 2012 Whitney Biennial in New York. She is also involved in performance and video art.
Source: PAP, ed.km, September 2014, translated by AM, December 2015
Joanna Malinowska
Chronicle of the latter world
Broadway Morey Boogie
23rd September 2014 – 1st February, 2015