Debate about the State of Contemporary Painting. 20 January 2026

Audiovisual Hall

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

Karol Radziszewski’s Kasztanka with the Marshal (“Kasztanka” being the name of Marshal Pilsudski’s mare, meaning “Chestnut), currently on display at MOCAK, has also become the subject of public debate, during which, unfortunately, the interpretative scope of the painting itself has been significantly reduced. Issues such as nudity in art and queer themes have been marginalised, sounding the alarm for other artists who critically address issues related to social memory, in the widest sense of the term. In both cases, an important aspect was the fact that these presentations take place in public institutions.

Nevertheless, one may well ask whether the voice of the public opinion is not a harbinger of a warning that contemporary painting has become progressively insular, losing sight of the viewers and getting further and further away for their everyday experiences.

The online upheavals have put the spotlight on the amount of controversy contemporary art provokes today – and how quickly a disagreement about aesthetics can turn into a social or even ideological controversy.

The last two exhibition seasons at MOCAK can be described as a massive onslaught by young painting, in which large group shows such as Nostalgia: Seekers of Fading Stars and House of Day, House of Night: Works from the Radosław Kotarski Collection were accompanied by smaller, individual exhibitions by Andrzej Żygadło and Sana Shahmuradova Tanska. This dominance of a single medium, which may facilitate the mapping and contextualisation of the subject, will be the subject of a discussion with Agnieszka Jankowska-Marzec, PhD, Karolina Jabłońska and Karol Radziszewski. During the conversation, we will reflect on the condition of contemporary painting, its multi-threaded nature and pluralism of its strategies – from formal reflection to deliberate provocation. The debate will also touch upon what impact of both competitions and rankings on the shape of contemporary painting, and also the conditions resulting from the art market. More broadly, it will also be a discussion about what art can and should show today and what its limits are, and also about the role of visual education, art criticism, and the relationship between institutions and the public in the

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 the second prize at the 43^rd Bielska Jesień Painting Biennale (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 at the Jagiellonian University. She works as an assistant professor at the Faculty of Graphic Arts at 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). She is 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, among 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 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, reinterpreting 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.