Current exhibitions
Temporary exhibitions
Nature in Art
At the exhibition Nature in Art we show contemporary works of more than 70 artists from many countries, in techniques ranging from painting, photography and video to object and installation. The exhibition has been divided into five parts: Beauty, Ecology, Confrontation, Matter and Symbol.
Ten Jews Who Made Poland Famous
The series of paintings by Beata Stankiewicz entitled Ten Jews Who Made Poland Famous is a deliberate reference to Andy Warhol’s series Ten Portraits of Jews of the 20th Century. Both series present figures whose fame and greatness mattered more than their ethnicity. Both artists suggest – with a certain dose of bitterness – that bias against Jews can only be tempered by their individual genius.
Where One Cannot Speak: Word as Image, Image as Word
At the exhibition we present dozens of the collages by the Laureate of the Nobel Prize in Literature Herta Müller, which she created during 2005–2018. This is the first-ever presentation of these works in a museum of contemporary art.
Lodz Film School: The Young Generation
At the exhibition we will be showing the end-of-year etudes by first-year students of the Film and TV Directing Departmentat the Lodz Film School, produced in the documentary studio led by Grażyna Kędzielawska and Maria Zmarz-Koczanowicz.
The Polish Phantom
In MOCAK Library, we present a selection of her photographs from the series The Polish Phantom. The exhibition comprises five parts (Warsaw, Nowa Huta, Krakow, Auschwitz, Kielce). Contemporary photographs document objects, spaces and places related to World War II and Polish People’s Republic.
Violence and Memory
The exhibition presents archival photographic materials from the race and folklore sections as well as the landscape sections of the Institute of German Works in the East. (IDO), which are now to be found at the Institute of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology of the Jagiellonian University and in the Jagiellonian University Archives. The photographs created during World War II, mainly of the Podhale and Lemko highlanders, were incorporated into the symbolic form of the Carpathian iconostasis.
Concept-Shapes (MOCAK Collection)
Stanisław Dróżdż is one of the most significant representatives of Polish conceptual art and the most renowned Polish concrete poet. The year 2019 is the year of the 80th anniversary of the poet’s birthday and also the 10th anniversary of his death. In commemoration, the Museum is presenting an individual exhibition of the artist, which comprises entirely works from the MOCAK Collection.
Permanent Exhibitions
Motion as the Stuff of Art (MOCAK Collection)
At the latest exhibition of the MOCAK Collection, we show selected objects and installations, in which motion plays a particular role. In all these works it functions as the device for instilling meaning and bringing coherence to the message. In this manner, motion has almost become an object. In keeping with Einstein’s theory, energy turns into matter.
Symbolic Design (MOCAK Collection)
Artists seek opportunities to practise art everywhere they can. They have found them, amongst others, in the field of architecture and design – disciplines traditionally governed by function. The designer’s creative inspiration follows the principle of utility. Contemporary artists employ the relationship between imagination and function in quite a contrary way. With some exceptions, they completely reject the practical function, instead dwelling on its symbolism. Objects appear deceptively practical, yet simultaneously do not yield themselves to practical use. This results in a conceptual play.
Outdoor Exhibits From The MOCAK Collection
Outdoor Exhibits From The Mocak Collection is a group of artworks situated in the area surrounding MOCAK refers to four subjects: the Holocaust, history of art, history of politics and intervention in public space.
Live Factory 2: Warhol by Lupa (MOCAK Collection)
MOCAK Museum of Contemporary Art in Krakow, in collaboration with the Helena Modrzejewska National Stary Theatre in Krakow, is opening a new space as part of its Collection. We will be showing Krystian Lupa’s interactive installation Live Factory 2, based on the stage design for his theatre production Factory 2, which premiered at the Stary Theatre in 2008.
The Mieczysław Porębski Library (MOCAK Collection)
MOCAK’s Library is located in a side building. In one of the halls, Mieczysław Porębski’s Library is be exhibited. Porębski, Poland’s most prominent art historian, many years ago expressed his wish to donate his book collection to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Krakow. When the Museum came into being, he returned to that idea and handed over to the institution the Krakow part of his collection.
External Exhibitions
An Ingenious Psychoholic
The exhibition, curated by Maria Anna Potocka, will present works produced by Witkacy’s famous Portrait Company and series of the artist’s posed self-portraits.