黑料不打烊

What a fabulous place we are in are the words repeatedly spoken by Andrzej Mitan and Cezary Staniszewski during their performance in 1992. The title, with its message, is ironic. It signals, on one hand, the distance from the reality, and on the other the entanglement of artists in their aspirations to be elevated above everyday life. Geopolitical conditions are not without their relevance either - in the performance, the artists used a photo presenting the 鈥榓rchitects鈥� of the 1945 Yalta conference, who established what would be the global spheres of influence after World War II,  the issue which is coming back to us with all its impact now. The exhibition has been composed of the artworks donated to the Muzeum Sztuki in 艁贸d藕 between 2008 and 2021.

Muzeum Sztuki in 艁贸d藕 was established nearly a hundred years ago thanks to the dedication of the international avant-garde artists and activists. The crises of the then world, when the empires were collapsing and an alternative to the exploitative economic relations was rapidly sought after, was accompanied by a belief in progress and universal emancipation. The manifestation of this faith was reflected in the avant-garde art. The works donated to the collection represent an artistic expression, are a  historical trace and are also a reflection of exhibitions and projects run by the Muzeum Sztuki in 艁贸d藕. The graphic by Tam谩s Kasz谩s We don鈥檛 ask nor demand, but we take and occupy  shown at the exhibition reminds us, however, of the anger at the unequal distribution of goods, even if public institutions, such as a museum, were originally established to mitigate this inequality.

The first theme of the exhibition concerns museums. Artists working with art institutions constantly reflect on the function of those institutions and  artists鈥� presence in them. The worn-out golden-painted sneakers on a tall metal plinth is an installation documenting a performance by James Lee Byars during Documenta 5 in 1972, which indicates, inter alia, the process of creating meaning around artistic gestures. The counterpoint here is a film by Assaf Gruber about a person for whom taking care of art and its presentation has become the very reason of existence and the main element of everyday activities. Jasmina Cibic's photos remind us that museums are the time capsules in which we store unusual and poetic objects. The artist photographed the reverse of the paintings by Sophie Taeuber-Arp and W艂adys艂aw Strzemi艅ski with numerous stickers documenting the history of these objects, on which we see butterflies whose life by Nature's plan  is short.