18 Nov 2011

Meta-White at Freies Museum Berlin

The exhibition 'Meta-White' taking place at Freies Museum Berlin from 12th November until 8th December 2011, presents works of 17 Polish artists focused on different points of view connected to the idea of 'White', crossing disciplines from photography to painting and performance. The exhibition is organized by In Situ  Modern Art Foundation from Warsaw as part of the cultural program of the Polish Presidency in the European Union.

'Meta-White' concentrates on works which are playing with the idea and notion of 'White' as a carte blanche, and is a selection of works which address existential subjects, such as passing of time, finiteness or infiniteness. The exhibition is a reflection on 'White' as an abstract, how it was imagined and revisited in Polish contemporary art, especially connected with the need to seek new spaces in contemporary culture. The notion of 'White' appears in most of the works as an unquestionable starting point, a self-reliable element in the current (relativized) state of reality and art. It is not determined by a formalized exterior narration and political or market context.

The artists brought together are representative of different generations: from Roman Opałka, Zbigniew Warpechowski and Zygmunt Rytka active since the 60ies and later Bożenna Biskupska and Roland Schefferski, until young emerging artists such as Róża Litwa and Sławomir Pawszak.

The works shown span across 50 years of Polish art. The exhibition presents for instance Roman Opałka's life-time project 'Opałka 1965 /1 - ', which he begun almost 60 years ago. It exposes the passing of time and the inevitable end inscribed on one's life. The work by Zygmunt Rytka is based on the contradiction between reality per se and the world of art. In Bożenna Biskupska's and Slawomir Pawszak's works the notion of 'White' appears as a traditional approach towards painting. Using this as a starting point, Biskupska coats the surface of the canvas with linen oil on top of an original drawing, leaving it to the chemical reactions taking place on the surface to direct the final look of the image. Róza Litwa's delicate paintings, made on both sides of paper, come to existence through the transparent surface that allows both images to be visible from one side.

The opening is accompanied by performance by Koji Kamoji and Noah Warsaw, Å?ukasz GÅ‚owacki, Miho Iwata and a concert by Andrzej Rzymkowski.

The project is organized by the In Situ  Modern Art Foundation from Warsaw as a part of the culture programme of the Polish Presidency in the European Union, it is supported and cofinanced by the Polish Minister of Culture and National Heritage, Voyvodship of Mazovia and supported by the Foundation for German-Polish Cooperation.

Artists:

Bożenna Biskupska, Jakub Ciężki, Å?ukasz GÅ‚owacki, Miho Iwata, Koji Kamoji, Róża Litwa, SÅ‚awomir Marzec, Roman OpaÅ‚ka, SÅ‚awomir Pawszak, Joanna Polak, Zygmunt Rytka, Roland Schefferski, Urszula Åšlusarczyk, Mikolaj SmoczyÅ„ski, Zbigniew Warpechowski, Noah Warsaw and Edyta Wolska

www.insitu.pl
www.freies-museum.com