Hanna Krzetuska. It’s Me Who Paints!

Herstories of the legendary Wrocław Group in Mieszkanie Gepperta gallery. Exhibition and discussion forum.

We are approaching the opening weekend (14-15 October) of the exhibition It’s Me Who Paints!, dedicated to Hanna Krzetuska, co-creator of Wrocław’s post-war artistic community and the legendary Wrocław Group. The Mieszkanie Gepperta gallery, which is situated in the former studio of Krzetuska and her husband Eugeniusz Geppert, will present works by members of the Wrocław School and their interpretations by women artists of the younger generation who live and work in Wrocław: Justyna Baśnik, Anna Kołodziejczyk, Karina Marusińska, Agnieszka Sejud and Karolina Szymanowska. A discussion forum will also be held at the gallery, with the participation of Anna Szpakowska-Kujawska, doyenne of the Wrocław art scene, among others.

The October exhibition It’s Me Who Paints!results from the Art Transparent Foundation’s long-standing efforts to commemorate the life, achievements and work of Wrocław’s doyens of contemporary art. The exhibition will consist of a presentation of works in the Mieszkanie Gepperta gallery (ul. Ofiar Oświęcimskich 1/2) – the former studio of Professor Eugeniusz Geppert and Hanna Krzetuska, and in Galeria Szewska. With this exhibition, we aim to place Hanna Krzetuska in a broader context – not as the wife of Professor Eugeniusz Geppert, the first post-war rector of the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław, but as a courageous artist, an abstractionist who made radical choices against the views of her husband and part of the then milieu, says Michał Bieniek, curator and president of the Art Transparent Foundation. This time, in keeping with the herstorical current, we are going to remember two other important members of the Group alongside Krzetuska: Wanda Gołkowska and Krzesława Maliszewska. It is crucial to recall the practice of both Krzetuska herself and other female artists associated with the Group, who have been less prominently present in the historiography to date than their partners, he adds. The exhibition will open on Friday, 14 October, which coincides with an open day at Mieszkanie Gepperta (3-7 p.m.), while the opening at Galeria Szewska will begin at 4 p.m. Admission is free.

On Saturday, 15 October, the Gepperts’ flat (currently housing the Mieszkanie Gepperta gallery, ul. Ofiar Oświęcimskich 1/2), which used to be the venue for social getherings and artistic discussions of the Wrocław Group members, will host a discussion forum on post-war history of women artists from Wrocław and questions connected with the role of locality in the formation of artistic attitudes and environments. Scheduled to take place at noon, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., the debates will be attended by witnesses of the Wrocław Group’s activities: Ewa Ludwińska-Chwałczyk, Anna Szpakowska-Kujawska and Mira Żelechower-Aleksiun, their current “heiresses”: Anna Kołodziejczyk, Katarzyna Kmita and Karina Marusińska, and experts: Anna Markowska, Zośka Reznik and Karolina Dzimira-Zarzycka. The meetings will be moderated by Magda Podsiadły, Daniela Tagowska and Małgorzata Miśniakiewicz. The event can be attended in person – at the Mieszkanie Gepperta gallery (registration required: zapisy@arttransparent.org), or online – via live streaming on the Art Transparent Foundation’s social media.

The exhibition It’s Me Who Paints!, organised in the Mieszkanie Gepperta gallery as part of the 15% of Abstraction series, will be open until 30 November, on Mondays and Thursdays from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. and on Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Admission is free. A number of accompanying events are also planned, including historical walks and educational activities. Details to follow soon.

More information: https://arttransparent.org/event/wystawa-to-maluje-ja-z-cyklu-15-abstrakcji

exhibition It’s Me Who Paints! from the 15% of Abstraction series

14 October – 30 November 2022

artists:

Hanna Krzetuska, Wanda Golkowska, Krzesława Maliszewska
Justyna Baśnik, Anna Kołodziejczyk, Karina Marusińska, Agnieszka Sejud, Karolina Szymanowska

forum Hanna Krzetuska. It’s Me Who Paints!

15 October 2022

participants:

Ewa Ludwińska-Chwałczyk, Anna Szpakowska-Kujawska, Mira Żelechower-Aleksiun, Magda Podsiadły, Anna Kołodziejczyk, Kasia Kmita, Karina Marusińska, Daniela Tagowska, Anna Markowska, Zośka Reznik, Karolina Dzimira-Zarzycka, Małgorzata Miśniakiewicz

_________________________

14 October – 30 November 2022

Mieszkanie Gepperta gallery

Ofiar Oświęcimskich 1/2, 50-069 Wrocław

opening hours

Mon. and Thurs. 3-7 p.m.

Wed.11 a.m. – 7 p.m.

or by appointment: zapisy@arttransparent.org

14 October – 4 November 2022

Galeria Szewska

Szewska 27, 50-139 Wrocław

opening hours: 24/7

www.arttransparent.org

Co-financed by the Museum of Polish History in Warsaw as part of the “Patriotism of Tomorrow” programme. Co-financed by the Municipality of Wrocław. www.wroclaw.pl


The exhibition It’s Me Who Paints! is a continuation of Art Transparent Foundation’s activities aimed to introduce the life and work of Hanna Krzetuska to the general public – not only as an interesting painter who made bold formal choices, but also as a driving force behind the post-war artistic and cultural community of Wrocław, which eventually led to the formation of the so-called Wrocław School or Group. This time, in keeping with the herstorical current, we are going to remember two other important members of the Group alongside Krzetuska: Wanda Gołkowska and Krzesława Maliszewska.

The works and attitudes of the artists of the older generation will be interpreted by younger women artists living and working in Wrocław today: Justyna Baśnik, Karolina Szymanowska, Karina Marusińska, Agnieszka Sejud and Anna Kołodziejczyk. In doing so, we will find out whether there is an awareness of, and need for, generational continuity in the local visual arts community. Apart from the obvious links with predecessors, resulting from education at the local academy of fine arts, is there any deeper, more conscious affinity built on ideas, attitudes or formal solutions? Was the informal character of the Group, which had no structured programme and was largely built on a sense of camaraderie between radically different artistic personalities, sufficient to lay the foundations for artistic continuity? It seems that looking from a contemporary feminist perspective and restoring previously underrepresented herstories may bring some surprising answers. Perhaps it will turn out that continuity lies in the worldview rather than programme? In the detail rather than manifesto? Perhaps the growing interest in filling in the gaps in the narrative about the not-so-distant past by recalling female narrators and heroines rather than their male colleagues, over-present as commentators and protagonists, is the fullest expression of the need for continuity? Let us return to Hanna Krzetuska in this context – not as the wife of Professor Eugeniusz Geppert, the first post-war rector of the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław, as the masculinised discourse has it, but as a courageous artist, an abstractionist who made radical choices against the views of her husband and part of the then milieu. Because if you seek, you may also err – but these will be your own errors. Isn’t it a manifesto and attitude most worthy of following?

exhibition It’s Me Who Paints! from the series 15% of Abstraction

14 October – 30 November 2022

artists:

Hanna Krzetuska, Wanda Gołkowska, Krzesława Maliszewska

Justyna Baśnik, Anna Kołodziejczyk, Karina Marusińska, Agnieszka Sejud, Karolina Szymanowska

Mieszkanie Gepperta gallery

Ofiar Oświęcimskich 1/2, 50-069 Wrocław

opening hours

Mon. and Thurs. 3-7 p.m.

Wed.11 a.m. – 7 p.m.

or by appointment: zapisy@arttransparent.org

14 October – 4 November 2022

Galeria Szewska

Szewska 27, 50-139 Wrocław

opening hours: 24/7


forum Hanna Krzetuska. It’s Me Who Paints!

15 October 2022

Mieszkanie Gepperta gallery

ul. Ofiar Oświęcimskich 1/2, 50-069 Wrocław

participants:

Ewa Ludwińska-Chwałczyk, Anna Szpakowska-Kujawska, Mira Żelechower-Aleksiun, Magda Podsiadły, Anna Kołodziejczyk, Kasia Kmita, Karina Marusińska, Daniela Tagowska, Anna Markowska, Zośka Reznik, Karolina Dzimira-Zarzycka, Małgorzata Miśniakiewicz

The event can be attended in person – at the Mieszkanie Gepperta gallery (registration required: zapisy@arttransparent.org) or online – via live streaming on the Art Transparent Foundation’s social media.

PROGRAMME

12 noon

Geppert’s wife who paints: on realities, concealments and relationships.

A conversation with Mira Żelechower-Aleksiun, Anna Szpakowska-Kujawska and Ewa Ludwińska-Chwałczyk moderated by Magda Podsiadły.

2 p.m.

Sensitised to colour: on the importance of locality and intergenerational dialogue.*

Daniela Tagowska talks with Anna Kołodziejczyk, Kasia Kmita and Karina Marusińska.


4 p.m.

I was extremely negative about marriage: herstorical perspectives on Wrocław art.*

A discussion of Anna Markowska, Zośka Reznik and Karolina Dzimira-Zarzycka moderated by Małgorzata Miśniakiewicz.

*quotes in titles come from Hanna Krzetuska’s statement

The forum accompanying the exhibition It’s Me Who Paints! will consist of three discussions on issues connected with Wrocław’s post-war art herstory and questions about the role of locality in the formation of artistic attitudes and communities. Taking Hanna Krzetuska as the starting point for our research, we will examine processes involved in the formation of the Wrocław School and its memory. Of key importance here will be to recall the practice of both Krzetuska herself and other female artists associated with the Group, who have been less prominently present in the historiography to date than their partners. The forum will include a discussion on Wrocław’s herstory of art focusing on female artists associated with the Group and the social and artistic contexts of their activities. While presenting works by Krzetuska, Maliszewska and Gołkowska in the Gepperts’ flat, i.e. the place where they actually held social events and artistic discussions, it is worth noting the importance of private spaces and invisible work for the formation of a community. As part of the forum, the witnesses and persons associated with the Group will take part in a reminiscence-based conversation about the unexposed aspects of their work. The second discussion will involve contemporary female artists who have directly referred to paintings by the doyennes of Wrocław’s art, raising questions about the importance of artistic legacy, local memory and the concept of situated continuity. This artistic, academic and social dialogue will be attended by representatives of different generations and professions, all of whom are connected to Wrocław. We intentionally adopt a local vantage point in order to reflect together on the shape and impact of the field in which we function.

a series of approximately 15-minute podcasts:

• “Hanna – a family biography”

• “Between Lviv, Krakow and Wrocław”

• “15% of abstraction”

• “Is Hanna with us?”

• “Geppert’s wife who paints”

hosted by Ewa Pluta.

The Wrocław Group in city space

SAW! Senior Art Walk is a project carried out by the Art Transparent Foundation in the most interesting cultural institutions in Wrocław. We create a space for encounters with the most recent art, and admission to the events is always free.

To participate in the walk it is necessary to register by e-mail or by contacting the coordinator Ewa Pluta directly.

The publication will include:
• A text by artist Karolina Szymanowska on her work on the exhibition 15 % of Abstraction (Mieszkanie Gepperta gallery, 2018) and inspiration with the work and life of Hanna Krzetuska. The text will be illustrated with sketches from the process of preparing the exhibition.
• A text by Ewa Pluta introducing the biography of Hanna Krzetuska and her historical background.
• A text by Zośka Reznik on the herstorical approach to Wrocław’s art in a broader context, including the work of the female members of the Wrocław Group, presentation of the scope of research and the methodology of feminist interpretations of history.
• Transcription of the debate Geppert’s wife who paints: on realities, concealments and relationships with the participation of Anna Szpakowska-Kujawska, Mira Żelechower-Aleksiun, Ewa Ludwińska-Chwałczyk, and Magda Podsiadły.
• Transcription of the debate Sensitised to colour: on the importance of locality and intergenerational dialogue with the participation of Karina Marusińska, Katarzyna Kmita, Anna Kołodziejczyk, and Daniela Tagowska.

In addition, the publication will include photographs of selected paintings by Hanna Krzetuska from the collection of the Archdiocesan Museum in Wrocław, as well as documentation of the works presented in the exhibition It’s Me Who Paints! from the series 15 % of Abstraction. Details will follow soon.