Events

The 14th edition of Warsaw Gallery Weekend, scheduled for September 26-29, is not only one of the most important events in the Polish contemporary art calendar but also an important reference point for artistic trends and discourses at the international level. This year's edition consists of as many as 42 exhibitions organized by 35 Polish galleries and 3 foreign ones.

 

The ING Polish Art Foundation has been supporting this initiative since 2017 by awarding the Main Prize and the Special Prize. In this way, we want to honour Polish artists, as well as support the galleries affiliated with the WGW, which are contributing to the position of the Polish art scene on the international art market.

 

During the first edition, the Foundation Award honoured Katarzyna Przezwańska, and the collection that included her work “Early Polishness”, which was presented at the Dawid Radziszewski Gallery during WGW. In her work, the artist often depicts geological phenomena and processes in the plant world. Her long-standing fascination with nature and the history of the Earth, intertwined with analyses of the national context and visual forms of identity, took the form of a diorama. In her creative endeavours, the artist decided to go back two hundred million years, when the Polish lands were closer to the equator. Polishness in the Jurassic Age is represented by tropical flora and small dinosaurs instead of a proud eagle. The work can be viewed in the showcase of the ING branch at Warsaw Central Station.

^{Katarzyna Przezwańska, Early Polishness (fragment), 2017, diorama: synthetic materials, paper, 130 × 159 × 318 cm}

In 2018, the Foundation's collection was enriched by two works by Agnieszka Brzeżanska, created especially for the “Goddesses” exhibition at BWA Warsaw. The first is a jacquard fabric entitled “Flora.” Amidst the multi-coloured waves, one can see a female silhouette in a tangle of plant motifs. The secret forces, such as the elements and vital energy, are themes that the artist often explores in her work. The second piece is a ceramic vase with a multiplied image of female breasts. The form is inspired by motifs that appear in many cultures: from Lusitanian to pre-Columbian. You will see the fabric at our headquarters in the Plac Unii building in Warsaw, and the ceramics at the artist's solo exhibition in the fall at the Museum of Warsaw.

 

^{Agniszka Brzeżańska, Flora (fragment), 2016, jacquard, 138 × 195 cm}

The following year, the jury awarded Mikołaj Sobczak, whose work has been exposing the politics of constructing collective memory and the tendency to erase the contributions and histories of minority groups from the official narrative for many years. In the work “The Smiths” which is in the Foundation's collection, the artist plays with the conventions of historical painting. Using the composition of Arthur Grottger's prints, he transforms the anonymous smiths into depictions of individuals important to the freedom and queer movements. The collection also includes the ceramic vase “Snails Riot I,” which portrays female activists of the previously mentioned movements. The painting is on display at our headquarters, while the vase is shown at Podgląd (eng. Sneak-Peak) Gallery, a site available 24 hours a day in the Plac Unii City Shopping.

 

^{Mikołaj Sobczak, The Smiths (fragment), 2019, acrylic on canvas, 124.5 × 165 cm} 

In 2020, Hanna Krzysztofiak received the Main Prize, and two of her paintings “Storm” and “Napoleonka” were added to the collection. They were painted for the artist's solo exhibition “Napoleonka or Death” at the Polana Institute. While the painting “Napoleonka” is a reflection of a joyful, triumphant mood, “Storm” was a reckoning with the experience of depression and separation from a partner. The latter is also a reflection on world events evoking feelings of anxiety and danger - the canvas was created in February 2020, at the threshold of the pandemic. You can see the painting at the Foundation's headquarters.

 

^{Hanna Krzysztofiak, Storm (fragment), 2020, acrylic, canvas, 200 x 175 cm}

In 2021, the Main Foundation Award went to two artists: Zuzanna Bartoszek for her exhibition “Walking with a Knife” at Stereo Gallery and Ala Savashevich for her work “Beyond. Position. Way,” shown at the exhibition “Identity Inscriptions. Belonging, Difference, Gesture” at the Biuro Wystaw Gallery. Awarded works were ones of a variety of media - painting, video, and sculpture but also coming out of different attitudes. Bartoszek's expressive canvases tell the story of an individual's emotions, fears, sense of alienation, and often loneliness. The artist treats painting as a form of introspection, far from touching on worldview issues or those verging on activism. Ala Savashevich, on the other hand, reaches for universal symbols and transforms them into political commentary about social pressures and control mechanisms used to discipline individuals in both totalitarian systems and gender. In the video, Savashevich uses the motif of a feminine attribute - stilettos, made of steel, with a heel in the shape of a Soviet star stuck into one’s foot, causing pain with each step. You will see Bartoszek's painting at the Foundation's headquarters, and Savasevich's film will be showed on the Foundation's Ekran (eng. Screen) in the same building starting September 24.

 

^{Zuzanna Bartoszek, Diagonal Walk in Pendolino Train (fragment), 2021, oil, canvas, 120 x 100 cm}

^{Ala Savashevich, Pose. Position. Way. (frame), 2019, video, 0'57"}

Another recipient of the Foundation Award was Karol Radziszewski, recognized for his exhibition “Myths” at BWA Warsaw and his critical research on queer historiography, memory, and national identity. The works presented at the exhibition were an extension of his “Poczet” series, in which he portrayed prominent figures in Polish culture, but whose non-heteronormativity never resonated with the public. Among them was Karol Szymankiewicz, to whom the artist's exhibition at Warsaw Gallery Weekend was dedicated. The work “Harnasie” which joined the Foundation's collection, refers to the composer's famous ballet and the scene of dancing robbers. It can be viewed at our headquarters.

 

^{Karol Radziszewski, Harnasie (fragment), 2022, acrylic, canvas, 140 x 140 cm}

In 2023, the jury awarded two Grand Prizes again.The first was awarded to Veronika Hapchenko for her exhibition “Interloper” at the Import/Export Gallery. The second was won by Marta Niedbał and Paweł Olszczński for their exhibition “Hold Me Closer” at HOS Gallery. In her work, Hapchenko intertwines modernity with Soviet heritage. The painting “demeter, after Ivan Lytovchenko,” which is now part of our collection, belongs to the “Mosaics” series and is inspired by artworks created a few years before the explosion of the Chernobyl reactor in today's now-abandoned town of Pripyat. The original mosaic titled “Creation” depicts the Greek goddess of crops, Demeter. Hapchenko reimagines those mosaics after Russian troops entered Pripyat in 2022. As the second prize, the collection was enriched with the work “Dissolution” by Marta Niedbał and Paweł Olszczyński - an object combining artistic fabric, painting, and installation. The work was created jointly by the two artists, bridging the boundaries of authorship and the limits of their egos and creating a completely new quality from the dialogue. You will see the “Dissolving” at the Foundation's headquarters. Hapchenko's painting was loaned to the exhibition “The Colour of Energy,” accompanying the viennaartcontemporary fair in Vienna.

 

^{Marta Niedbał i Paweł Olszczyński, Dissolving (fragment), 2023, wool, cotton, silk on dyed jute, wood, 182 x 210 cm} 

^{Veronika Hapchenko, demeter, after Ivan Lytovchenko (fragment), 2023, acrylic, ink, canvas, 160 x 335 cm}

During the WGW, in addition to the Grand Prize, the Foundation awards a Special Prize. This is an honourable mention in the form of a financial award for non-commercial activities of artists or non-traditional gallery initiatives.

 

The first honorable mention went to artist Diana Lelonek and her institute, Center for Living Things, for promoting knowledge of new non-human forms: plants, lichens, fungi and insects. All of the artifacts in the institute's collection are discarded objects, used goods and no longer needed - remnants of human overproduction that have become the natural habitat for many living organisms.
http://dianalelonek.com/portfolio/center-for-the-living-things/

In 2018, the jury awarded the Special Prize to Dominika Olszowy, who prepared the scenographic frame for the exhibition If I Were the Moon at the Raster Gallery. https://rastergallery.com/wystawy/gdybym-byl-ksiezycem/

The Special Award in 2019 went to Szara Gallery from Katowice - an institution that is not afraid of change - testing places, formats, venues, always remaining faithful to both artists and audiences, the jury's verdict read.

 

The following year, for his contribution to the development of the Warsaw and Polish art scene, the Special Award went to Kamil Pierwszy, who runs the artist-run-space: Serce Człowieka. The jury appreciated the evolution of his practice blurring the boundaries between artistic and curatorial activities and creating a space for many interesting debuts. https://kamilpierwszy.pl/

In 2021, the jury awarded Asymetria Gallery for preparing the exhibition "Closed show / Jerzy Lewczyński, Zdzisław Beksiński, Bronisław Schlabs with the participation of Zbigniew Libera" as an example of ideal cooperation between the gallery, curators, researchers and the artist.

The 2022 Special Prize was awarded to Karolina Grzywnowicz, whose exhibition was presented by the Jednostka Gallery, for the artist's commitment, consistently developing a long-term project. Her work showed the phenomenon of interference in the landscape, used as a tool of power to oppress and rewrite history. The jury recognized the artist's practice as a distinctive and significant tool of micro resistance. https://jednostka.com/warsaw-gallery-weekend-2022-uziemienie/

Last year, the Foundation's Special Award went to Turnus, an independent artist-curator collective founded by Kamila Falęcka and Marcelina Gorczyńska. Turnus is an experimental and bold community platform seeking dialogue. It is a place that is at the same time a gallery, a café, and a cinema, and thus brings together different social groups, and in its open formula gives visibility and democratic access to the art scene. https://www.facebook.com/turnusnawolskiej/ 

 

• The headquarters of the ING Polish Art Foundation is located on the 1st floor of the Plac Unii City Shopping building at 2 Puławska Street. The space can be visited from Monday to Friday, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.
• Ekran is located on the 1st floor of the Plac Unii City Shopping building. It is available to the public during the building's opening hours.
• The Podgląd Gallery is located in the storefront of the Plac Unii City Shopping building, facing Waryńskiego Street. It is available 24 hours a day.
• The site of the ING branch at the Warsaw Central Railway Station, on the Emilia Plater side (vis a vis PKIN) is available 24h.