Exhibitions
Lupa - Warlikowski. A few pictures of the theatre of Krystian Lupa and Krzysztof Warlikowski
The exhibition „A few pictures of the theatre of Krystian Lupa and Krzysztof Warlikowski” in Powszechny Theatre in Łódź (accompanying the International Festival of Plays Pleasant and Unpleasant) presents two great masters of Polish theatre – Krystian Lupa and Krzysztof Warlikowski.
Though they come from different generations, they have many things in common. They both created their own theatre groups – groups of artists coming from various fields, co-working with one another for years (actors, playwrights, visual artists, sound technicians and lighting engineers). They both search for their plays’ themes beyond the traditional drama. And finally they both treat theatre as the place to resolve the most important problems and questions bothering the man through the years.
They both ask difficult and awkward questions – they ask about human nature, human divine being, sense of incarnation, spiritual development and transformation, the role of society and exclusions in many fields.
Valued and appreciated, Lupa and Warlikowski divide the audience in half – their real admirers and equally truly outdistanced.
A multimedia exhibition in Powszechny Theatre presents the phenomenon of contemporary theatre at its best. It shows the master – artist, but also the master – teacher. The most unique phenomena of the original, author’s theatre.
It is not true that there are no authorities in the contemporary world, that in the stream of everyday, ordinary life the real greatness is underestimated. It is not true that in our world there is no place for the truly great and inspired art. We invite you to look at a few pictures presenting the output of two great masters of our times.
Master and Student. Waldemar Świerzy and Andrzej Pągowski
Artistic posters designed by the best Polish graphic artists are a graphical complement to the last twelve editions of the Festival of Plays Pleasant and Unpleasant. Among the artists who designed them are two creators – Waldemar Świerzy and Andrzej Pągowski. Their relationship lasted for several decades.
Waldemar Świerzy (1931 – 2013) was a co-author of 1950’s artistic phenomena called the Polish poster school. He was also a professor, for many years he taught at the University of Fine Arts in Poznań. Pągowski (born in 1953) is his best known student – he graduated in 1978.
Since the early 1950’s, like nowhere in the world, artistic posters were very widely present on the streets of Polish cities. The theme spectrum of the works varied from cultural events (theatre, opera, film) to social-political ones. In this great street galery Andrzej Pągowski lived from his youngest years. Works of outstanding graphic designers such as Jan Lenica, Jan Młodożeniec, Henryk Tomaszewski, Roman Cieślewicz, Franciszek Starowieyski, Wiktor Górka and Waldemar Świerzy shaped the artistic sensibility of a young boy. When he chose artistic studies he could decide whether he wanted to be a painter or a sculptor. But a chance to learn from Świerzy, who was at this time at his highest artistic form, decided on the choice of the functional, graphical specialization.
Studies in Poznań revealed Pągowski’s talent, his ability to design regardless of the subject, his enthusiasm and a specific feeling of the street – a place of displaying his printed works. Like his profesor, Pągowski was very committed and worked hard and quickly became very popular. He always chose his own, creatively changing way. No doubt, however, that expression of his posters, a passion for colour, changing typhography, searching ideas for a graphical image of theme – these are the features of his works that relate to the message of his academic teacher.
Both artists had close friendly relations. Pągowski, who superbly found himself in the advertising market of the early 1990’s, co-operated with his profesor many times. As the artistic director of the Polish version of Playboy, he introduced to the magazine illustrations of Polish graphic artists, works of Świerzy being among them. The lasts years of Świerzy’s life were filled mainly with the work on the new gallery of portraits of Polish kings. The idea of this great series was put forward by Pągowski. This important element of Polish national heritage will be presented this fall (2014) at the Royal Castle in Warsaw. I think that inspiration that came from Pągowski was the result of his belief in the outstanding talent of his Master.
Both artists are world champions in terms of the number of their posters. Świerzy made a thousand of them, Pągowski has already exceeded that number. Apart from that both artists created a great number of illustrations, album and book covers, postage stamps and other forms of functional graphics.
The exhibition at the Andel’s Hotel presents a small, symbolic selection of works of both artists. But even so intimate presentation will allow you to appreciate the works of Master and Student. The exhibition of Świerzy and Pągowski is complemented by a display of all festival posters since 2003.
Piotr Dąbrowski
