The Alchemy of Painting

The discussion will be held in Polish.

Participants: Agnieszka Jankowska-Marzec, Karolina Jabłońska and Karol Radziszewski

Moderator: Martyna Sobczyk

The 47^th Painting Biennale Bielska Jesień triggered a media storm, drawing attention to the problems and tensions associated with the reception of contemporary painting. The post-competition exhibition itself, described as ‘dense, expressive and uncomfortable’, turned the focus towards the concepts of affectivity and a departure from conventionally understood aesthetics, whilst revealing the difficulties and shortcomings in changing perception of the medium itself, which for some viewers has an exclusively aesthetic and decorative dimension.

Karol Radziszewski’s Kasztanka with the Marshal (currently on display at MOCAK; Kasztanka being the name of Marshal Piłsudski’s beloved mare), has also become the subject of public debate – which has, regrettably, significantly reduced the interpretative scope of the painting itself. Nudity in art and queer themes have been marginalised, ringing alarm bells for other artists who critically address issues related to broadly understood social memory. In both cases, an important aspect has been the fact that these presentations take place in public institutions.

Nevertheless, the question arises: are the opinions held by the public a warning that contemporary painting is becoming increasingly hermetic, less in touch with its audience and their experiences? The online storms have put under the spotlight the extent of the controversy that contemporary art arouses today; in no time at all an aesthetic dispute can turn into a social or even ideological one.

Less than two years ago, the exhibition Painting – the Golden Medium of Art came to a close at MOCAK. Showing works from the museum’s collection, its curators Maria Anna Potocka and Delfina Jałowik set themselves the task of demonstrating the versatility of painting and a kind of contract between the vision of the image and the artist’s hand. The eponymous ‘golden medium’ is a metaphor for the value, richness, and multidimensionality of the creative act, since painting not only depicts the world, but also creates new meanings and significance.

This dominance of a single medium, which may facilitate the mapping and contextualisation of the topic, will be the subject of a discussion with Agnieszka Jankowska-Marzec, PhD, Karolina Jabłońska and Karol Radziszewski. In the conversation, we will consider the condition of contemporary painting, its multi-threaded nature, and the pluralism of its strategies – from formal reflection to deliberate provocation. The conversation will also touch upon the impact of competitions and rankings on the state of contemporary painting, as well as the impact of the art market. More broadly, it will also be a discussion about what art can and should be depicting today, what its limits are, and what the role of visual education, art criticism, and the relationship between the institution and the audience is in the perception of images.

Karolina Jabłońska – a graduate of the Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków (diploma in 2015 in the studio of Prof. Leszek Misiak). Co-founder of the Potencja art group, initiator of independent exhibitions, artistic events and publications in Kraków. Winner of second prize at the 43^rd Painting Biennale Bielska Jesień (2017), the Lower Silesian Capital Award at the 12^th Geppert Competition (2016), and Businesswoman of the Year by the Sukces Pisany Szminką Foundation (2019). She has presented her works at numerous individual and collective exhibitions, including in Kraków (Szara Kamienica Gallery, MOCAK), Warsaw (Museum of Modern Art, Raster Gallery), Zielona Góra (BWA) and Bielsko-Biała (Bielska BWA Gallery).

Agnieszka Jankowska-Marzec – a graduate of art history at the Jagiellonian University. In 2007, she was awarded her doctorate at the Institute of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology of the Jagiellonian University. She works as an assistant professor at the Faculty of Graphic Arts of the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków. She is a member of the Association of Art Historians and the Polish section of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA, and an independent curator and exhibition organiser, implementing exhibition projects both in Poland and abroad. She collaborates with private galleries, artist-run spaces, and state institutions. Exhibitions under her curatorial care have been held, amongst others, at the Polish Institute in Budapest, MeetFactory in Prague, the Art Agenda Nova and Widna galleries in Kraków, the National Museum, the Wawel Royal Castle, the International Cultural Centre in Kraków and the BWA in Tarnów. Recently, her interests have focused on artistic interventions in historic palace and museum complexes, aiming to introduce contemporary art to places (such as the Wawel Royal Castle) where contemporary art has not been exhibited before. She has had academic and popular science articles and interviews published in many industry magazines, exhibition catalogues and monographs. She is the author of the book Między etnografią a sztuką. Mitologizacja Hucułów i Huculszczyzny w kulturze polskiej XIX i XX wieku (2013), which won in the domestic works category of the 2013 Eastern Review Awards.

Together with Anna Stankiewicz and Martyna Nowicka, she is behind the online project Pracownie do wglądu (pracowniedowgladu.pl/). She is a member of the editorial board of restartmag.art. Since 2017, she has been collaborating with the Wschód Sztuki Foundation, first organising Cracow Art Weekend, then Cracow Art Week KRAKERS (she was the chair of the jury selecting the best exhibition of the festival; currently, she chairs the jury of the Laboratory section). She has collaborated with the Małopolska Institute of Culture, the Nowa Huta Heritage Laboratory and Art Fair Kraków.

Karol Radziszewski – a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw (diploma in 2004 in the studio of Prof. Jarosław Modzelewski). Winner of the Polityka Passport Award in the visual arts category (2009). Founder of the Queer Archives Institute (2015), the first independent platform documenting LGBTQ+ culture in Poland. His works have been presented in numerous institutions in Poland and abroad, including the Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle, the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, the Museum of Art in Łódź, and the Kunsthalle Wien.

The artist is renowned for his exploration of identity, critical reflection on the mechanisms of exclusion, the normativity of historical memory and ways of constructing the cultural canon. In his artistic practice, he employs painting, video, and photography, and conducts performative activities, re-interpreting official historical narratives and introducing perspectives absent from the dominant discourse. His work combines personal experience with archival research, creating alternative, queer maps of the history and culture of Central and Eastern Europe.