I just can’t emphasize enough how important the Arkadius exhibition atCentral Museum of Textile in Łódź (Poland) is! Seeing all these garments finally IRL, masterfully preserved and in dialogue with works by contemporary Polish artists is a heartwarmingly emotional experience. What makes Arkadius’s oeuvre resonate especially now is its sensitivity towards humanity. He interprets cultures, religions and traditions from around the world in a beautiful and informed way, calling for global peace and love. Also, it’s eternally inspiring to see how the legendary designer and the creative who enamored London in the late 1990s and early 2000s plays with the idea(s) of Polish-ness: folklore, countryside life, Catholic imagination… all creating a joyful, exuberant mosaic of an artist’s creativity. Misunderstood in Poland at first, finally understood in 2020s – better late than never. This is a very significant moment for Polish fashion and I’m absolutely proud and happy to witness it.
The exhibition is open through July 2025 – you’ve got a year to visit Łódź!
You can revisit my interview with Arkadius here where we talk about the “Finale Icon” look from his iconoclastic “Virgin Mary Wears The Trousers” collection.
All photos by Edward Kanarecki. Don’t forget to follow Design & Culture by Ed on Instagram!
Hey, did you know about my newsletter – Ed’s Dispatch? Click here to subscribe!
The exhibition “Surrealism. Other Myths” (curated by Hanna Doroszuk) that has just opened at the National Museum of Warsaw is coinciding with the one-hundredth anniversary of André Breton publishing his famous “Manifesto of Surrealism“. The show however refutes the orthodox thinking on Surrealism as a historical art movement having a defined time-frame and fixed geographic boundaries. Instead it treats the movement as a global, inclusive and diverse phenomenon that’s reflected in Polish art, modern and contemporary. The exhibition’s historical narrative begins with works from the interwar period and ends with the output of artists connected with the international “Phases” movement, founded in the 1950s.
The exhibition is a unique opportunity to discover and admire works by more than sixty artists, including Marek Włodarski, Marek Piasecki, Jerzy Kujawski, Erna Rosenstein, Władysław Hasior, Zbigniew Makowski, Teofil Ociepka and Max Ernst. Their pieces exemplify the range of techniques typical of the Surrealists, like decalcomania, grattage and frottage. Also on view are examples of Surrealist objects and a large selection of photographs. In addition to items from the NMW collection, the exhibition features works on loan from other Polish museums and private collections. “Surrealism. Other Myths” proves that surrealism is breathing and well alive.
The part of the exhibition that drew my attention the most was Dominika Olszowy’s – one of the most talented contemporary, Polish artists out there – “Nocturne“. The artist has devised a quasi-domestic space inspired by nocturne painting tradition and by the world of night-time experiences. Permeating the room arranged by the artist is an emotional tension manifesting in physical responses like muscles tightening and bodies freezing in motionless. The objects and sculptures comprising “Nocturne” thus reside in a dead space where action is rendered impossible and the only escape is to wait out the night. In this space where the boundary between dream and reality dissolves, anxiety takes on a material and viscous form. Yet, deep in the crannies, a faint glimmer of the approaching sunrise breaks through. Experiencing this artwork reminded me why I love art. Make sure to follow Olszowy on Instagram!
And here are other details I captured at this fascinating exhibition:
The exhibition is on view until 11th of August 2024.
If you’re in mood for digging deeper into Surrealism, here are some books to indulge in!
Magda Butrym’s elevated resort 2024 collection reflects the brand’s expanding vocabulary which is a clash of romanticism, femininity and assertiveness. Pure romance was conveyed in the pink column dresses with draped bustiers and shoulder-straps in rose-like shapes. Hot take on femininity can be seen in the gorgeous “revenge” LBD with v-neckline and the sheer knitted gown with hand-crotcheted inserts around the bust. Power-dressing – Butrym’s latest specialty that she keeps on refining – informed the oversized tailoring that took clues from masculine proportions, as well as in the all-leather separates (see the jacket with furry collar!). But the ultimate hero piece status belongs to the silver evening dress, wholesomely splashed with sequins and appliquéd with metallic florals. Magda Butrym wouldn’t be Magda Butrym without bold accessories with – you guessed it – flowers as the main characters. This time, the Polish designer mixes her signature blooms with XXL pearls, which appear on stiletto heels and in the Audrey Hepburn-approved chokers. As always, Butrym’s dream closet oozes with pure chic.
Collage by Edward Kanarecki. Don’t forget to follow Design & Culture by Ed on Instagram! By the way, did you know that I’ve started a newsletter called Ed’s Dispatch? Click here to subscribe!
For autumn-winter 2022, Magda Butrym delivered a collection that balances her signature, chic finesse with a few delightful nods to her Polish roots. Those references definitely include the cultural legacy of early 20th century Zakopane, where artists created a new aesthetical identity inspired by the regional art of Poland’s highland region known as Podhale. In this “Love Letter” – the collection’s title – Butrym reinterprets the timeless shearling jacket by adding flower-shaped intarsia cut-outs, while the bold red rose print makes me think of Zofia Stryjeńska‘s vibrant depictions of women dressed in traditional highland folklore. Of course, nothing is too literal about this collection, and the knitted cream ensemble with a balaclava hoodie will work both on the slopes of Tatry and Megève. This season, the designer debuts luxe, commanding coats in red patent leather and pink, extra-fluffy jackets, as well as handcrafted details seen in the crochet dress and floral-appliqué mini. Feminine, edgy, distinctly cool and full of bling, Butrym’s eveningwear pieces are unlike anything else. Find them alongside her all-time must-haves – from bustiers with rounded cups to 3D rosettes, and a gray cashmere update to her best-selling long, boxy coat.
Anna Bilińska was the first Polish female artist to gain international recognition. Her first solo retrospective at the National Museum in Warsaw takes place just now, in 2021, but it’s better late than never. Bilińskaused oil paints, pastels and watercolours to create portraits, still lifes, genre scenes and landscapes in the style of European realism. The artist brilliantly mastered the basics of the painting technique, evidenced by her academic studies of models, which strike the viewer with their synthetic approach to the form and with their casual technique of painting. Of course, the artist also simultaneously continued the clear contour style, exemplified by her Male Nude Study (1885), Study for a Male Nude (ca. 1884-85) and Boy Nude (ca. 1884-85). Sketches for the historical and biblical compositions which Bilińska created in her youth have similar qualities but also display a bold expression of colour juxtaposition, as exemplified by Joseph Interprets Dreams (1883) and Inquisition (1884). Bilińska’s mature works consist predominantly of portraits and portrait studies of various ethnic types which were fashionable at that time. These pieces merge the refined simplicity of realism with an academic discipline of the painting technique, such as Head of a Serb (ca. 1884) or Old Man with a Book (ca. 1890s).Bilińska’s self-awareness and thoughts on the artist’s position in the world, which manifested itself in, among others, the representation of her own image in self-portraits, make her works so powerful. And still, the artist’s entire oeuvre and life story have yet to be thoroughly analysed and rediscovered…
The exhibition is on view until 10th of October 2021.
The National Museum in Warsaw is worth a visit in general! Here are some of my favourite artworks, especially from the 19th and 20th century galleries, from Józef Mehoffer’s enchanting Stange Garden to Jacek Malczewski’s prophetic visions.
Design & Culture by Ed 