Jolanta Owidzka. I Wouldn’t Dare Walk on a Work of Art

Jolanta Owidzka. I Wouldn’t Dare Walk on a Work of Art**

Opening: 7 December 2024, 7 pm
Exhibition: 8 December 2024–18 January 2025
Arton Foundation
ul. Foksal 11/4, Warsaw
Tuesday–Thursday, 12 pm–6 pm

Curators: Marika Kuźmicz, Adam Parol
Visual identification: Agnieszka Probola

Please check the curator's guided tour:
https://youtu.be/BHsNDpW4eUM

The exhibition I Wouldn’t Dare Walk on a Work of Art is an attempt to reflect on the oeuvre of Jolanta Owidzka, one of the most prominent representatives of the Polish school of textiles, in the context of her most significant exhibitions, beginning with her first solo show at Warsaw's Zachęta Gallery in 1960. In preparing her presentations, Owidzka collaborated with renowned figures such as Zofia and Oskar Hansen (CBWA Zachęta), Krzysztof Meisner (Sala Koncertowa in Radom), and Stanisław Zamecznik (BWA in Lublin and Sopot). These partnerships resulted in meticulously conceived, innovative arrangements that transcended conventional notions of exhibition design. This approach was intended to not only present Owidzka's textiles but also emphasized their functions and intricate meanings.

In her own words, it was through collaborations with her partners that she was able to create a "different space" within her exhibitions – both autonomous and very concrete. The featured fabrics were not merely abstract elements but conveyed their functional roles to the viewer. The process of working on her exhibitions held particular significance for Owidzka, as it clarified her vision of fabric's role in interiors. For her, a fabric was not just an object to be hung on a wall but a medium that actively existed within, organized, and even created space. As she explained, "The best [Polish exhibitors] created exceptional exhibitions, developing innovative concepts and solutions. Cooperation with architects has taught me that when you leave an exhibition, the overall impression matters most. And that sometimes it's necessary to sacrifice the prominence of one element for the harmony of the whole. This experience was an invaluable lesson for me and taught me how to organize an interior using fabric."

As a result, Owidzka's striking works, created with great sensitivity to color, were simultaneously conceptual, formally disciplined, and transgressive of the traditional boundaries of textile art. However, her approach differed from that of artists like Magdalena Abakanowicz or Wojciech Sadley. Owidzka's textiles were always strongly connected to their utilitarian function, yet they remained progressive rather than merely decorative. Throughout her creative life, she embraced experimentation and innovation.

The title of the exhibition refers to a guestbook entry from Owidzka's exhibition at the Zachęta Gallery, where a visitor remarked that they would not dare to walk on her carpets. This comment inspired Owidzka to delve deeper into the possibilities of presenting fabrics within a space and examining its relationship to spatial environments. This exploration resulted in spectacular solutions, such as Whites (1975), created for the Victoria Hotel in Warsaw.

The exhibition at the Arton Foundation features selected works by Owidzka from the collection of the Central Museum of Textiles in Łódź, alongside documentation of her past exhibitions from this museum, the Zachęta National Gallery of Art and the private archive of Joanna Owidzka, the artist's daughter.

Jolanta Owidzka (1927–2020) was a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, earning her diploma in 1952 under Eleonora Plutyńska in the Faculty of Interior Design. Beginning in 1949, while still a student, she began collaboration with the Bureau of Aesthetics and Production Supervision. Following its transformation into the Institute of Industrial Design, she worked there until 1957, conducting research on the role of textiles in interiors and textile design. She authored numerous texts on these topics. Owidzka created primarily unique textiles while also designing for industrial production, producing kilims, carpets, and both thread and jacquard fabrics. She participated in numerous group and solo exhibitions in Poland and internationally, including the Biennale of Artistic Textiles in Lausanne (1962, 1965, 1971) and the Wall Hangings exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Her monumental textile commissions included works for the Victoria Hotel in Warsaw, the New Art Center in Ottawa, the Secretariat of the Polish Episcopate, the Museum in Czarnolas, and many other institutions.

Subsidized by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage from the Fund for Promotion of Culture
Co-financed by the City of Warsaw