PURO ART GUIDE: WARSAW

Museum of Modern Art – Great Beginnings

Come late October we will be ringing in the new Museum of Modern Art (MSN) building, built over the course of the last decade, where right from the beginning we will be able to see a presentation of works from the collection. Yet a museum is not just a place to mingle with art, at least, not in the case of the new MSN. Apart from the exhibition spaces, it holds a cinema, auditorium, education halls, conservation studios, and a cafe. The changes in Defilad Square itself are to be no less spectacular. At the newly-plannedCentralny Square the concrete will give way to greenery, becoming the perfect place for a break in the heart of the city.

ŚRÓDMIEŚCIE - THE ART QUARTER

Finding ourselves in the city center, we come across many places connected with contemporary art. Adopting the Viennese parlance, we might call Śródmieście the “Museum Quarter,” though in Warsaw things pan out quite differently. Many galleries are tucked into charming venues, old and atmospheric buildings, making them more cozy. A person is not swallowed up in the shadow ofmonumental architecture. Though at a first glance it may seem as those only the initiated know the way in, nothing could be further from the truth! Year after year, at the turn of September and October, the capital city holds this part of Europe’s biggest festival celebrating the gallery scene—Warsaw Gallery Weekend. This is when we have the opportunity to explore all these places in the company of art lovers and specialists keen to talk! Yet the galleries participating in this event are well worth visiting all year round. Here’s some tips on where to head.

NORTH ŚRÓDMIEŚCIE

Right around PURO Warsaw Center there are a few interesting galleries that have livened up the heart of the capital in recent years. If your time is quite limited, you don’t have to go far for an inspiring art experience.

Gunia Nowik Gallery

Gunia Nowik Gallery is in the building at Bracka Street 18. It was created by a gallerist previously connected to the Pola Magnetyczne Gallery. Today it is developing dynamically, doubling down on international relationships. It often presents the work of Polish artists in new contexts, pairing them with artists from abroad. The artists they represent include Agata Bogacka, Iza Tarasewicz, Jakub Gliński, and Anna Orłowska. The gallery also handles the artistic legacy of Krzysztof Jung.

Wschód, Stereo

Wschód and Stereo are galleries set opposite one another in the building on Bracka Street 20b.  Wschód was founded in 2017, whileStereo, originally operating out of Poznań, moved to Warsaw in 2013. Owing to its roots, Stereo mainly represents Poznań artists, including Piotr Łakomy, Jakub Czyszczoń, and Wojciech Bąkowski. Wschód Gallery, whose name can metaphorically be read in two ways—alluding to the sunrise and new beginnings, or to the geographical east of Europe—gathers artists from Poland and abroad. In terms of local artists, the gallery works with Karolina Bielawska, Cezary Poniatowski, and Joanna Woś, among others.

The galleries are in the process of moving and are temporarily closed.

Wanda

This is one of the newest art spaces in the capital, founded in 2022, located in the building on Bracka Street 20b, like Wschód and Stereo. The gallery hosts a wide spectrum of activities. Apart from their curated projects, it is also open to experimental projects with an activist edge.

Serce Exhib.

Serce Exhib. Gallery is in one of the buildings on pulsing Chmielna Street 9. This is where to find the alternative art scene in Poland. It highlights artists who are unknown to the wider public, who question the status quo and seek out new narratives in art.

Olszewski – Ciacek

If you’re looking to dig deep into art history in Poland, make a trip to Olszewski – Ciacek, on Szpitalna Street 8a. You’ll mainly find works by avant-garde postwar artists, including abstract art. This is where you’ll find the vast legacy of one of the most outstanding, yet most highly controversial artists of the interwar period: Witkacy.

Lokal_30

One of Warsaw’s longest running private galleries, founded in 2006, located in the building on Wilcza Street 29a. It has a special focus on exhibiting feminist art and presenting artists of various generations. It is lokal_30 that gave a start to Ewa Juszkiewicz, who is now known around the world. Among the artists tied to the gallery are Joanna Rajkowska, Justyna Górowska, and Zuzanna Janin. The gallery also handles the legacies of Maria Anto and Natalia LL. For many years it has been running the Feminist Seminar event series, in which invited guests hold discussions on art and feminist themes.

Raster

A gallery that has been going for two decades, which grew out of the underground tradition. Located in the building at Wspólna Street 63, it has an extensive program of exhibitions and publications, placing major emphasis on international cooperation. It represents artists from various generations, including some of the greats from the turn of the millennium—Wilhelm Sasnal and Zbigniew Libera—and artists of the young generation, such as Karolina Jabłońska, Emilia Kina, and Dominika Olszowa.

Foksal Gallery Foundation

Created in the late twentieth century, it blazed a trail for a totally new vision of an arts scene, open to promoting Polish artists abroad. The foundation has ties to some outstanding artists who debuted in the 1990s as part of the critical art movement, like Paweł Althamer and Artur Żmijewski, as well as such younger artists as Agata Słowak and Karol Palczak.

Piktogram

Established in 2005 as a non-commercial institution, aiming to organize exhibitions and research projects in various locations. Since2015, Piktogram has adopted a gallery formula, representing such artists as Szymon Rogiński, Zuzanna Golińska, and PawełOlszewski. Since 2022, the gallery has been operating out of the building on Górskiego Street 4.

Stefan Gierowski Foundation

This institution, operating at Dąbrowskiego Square, was established in 2014. It carries out various aims at once—it cultivates memory of the art of Stefan Gierowski, and supports the development of art, including young artists. Since 2015 it has given out an award for the best diploma project at the Painting Department at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. 

SOUTH ŚRÓDMIEŚCIE

Polana Institute

Long attached to Muranów, it recently began operating again at Noakowskiego Street 16/35, near the Warsaw University of Technology. It mainly presents artists born in the 1980s and 90s. Katarzyna Przezwańska, Magdalena Karpińska, Patryk Różycki, and Mikołaj Sobczak are names to look out for.

Import Export

The very name of this gallery points to its openness to new inspirations, flowing in and out, orbiting in various directions. Founded in2021, it is located at Aleje Ujazdowskie, yet focused on projects that are nomadic (wandering) in nature. 

Monopol, BWA Warsaw

Monopol Gallery and BWA Warsaw share the same address—Marszałkowska 34/50, at Zbawiciela Square. In the former we can see works by artists of the older and the younger generations. Their artists include Jarosław Fliciński, Cyryl Polaczek, Martyna Pinkowska, and Leon Tarasewicz. Despite the proximity of Konstytucji Square, a flagship example of Socialist Realist architecture, and the gallery name itself, which might conjure associations with state institutions of bygone times, the creators of the BWA Warsaw have a totally different vision. They overturn these associations and purposefully use the parlance of the old system. In this way, they create a place with a mission, that breaks with the utopian vision of the art sector from the Socialist Realist times. Karol Radziszewski, Małgorzata Szymankiewicz, Bartłomiej Flis, and Agnieszka Brzeżańska are tied to the gallery.

ING Polish Art Foundation

In 2023, at Unii Lubelskiej Square, an open office-conference space was created to present a considerable part of the ING Polish Art Foundation collection. This place, located practically in the very heart of the city, provides an exceptional co-working atmosphere. It lets you spend time in the presence of recognized Polish artists. Putting art in the atypical space of a shopping mall is also an intriguing way of opening up to new audiences.

Where Outside of the Center?

Outside of the center there’s still plenty to discover, perhaps right in your local neighborhood.

MURANÓW

Leto, Hos Gallery

In one walk you can get a double dose of art, visiting two galleries side-by-side, at the same address at Dzielna Street 5.

Leto, founded in 2007, is a gallery with a very long tradition. It represents artists who creatively matured after 1989. Artists tied to the gallery include Maurycy Gomulicki, Wojciech Ireneusz Sobczyk, Aleksandra Waliszewska, and Radosław Szlaga. HOS Gallery next door is a space that has been operating in the capital since 2019. It originally came about to exhibit works from the owners’ collection. The gallery presently shows exhibitions of young artists, as well as the work of those who have passed away. HOS Gallery often hosts diploma exhibitions by graduates of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. It regularly works with Robert Delmanand Paweł Olszczyński. 

Szydłowski Gallery

While in Muranów, you should also pop into Szydłowski Gallery, which was founded back at the end of the last century. Its program focuses mainly on Polish avant-garde classics. This means that at the exhibitions we can find works by such outstanding figures asWojciech Fangor, Erna Rosenstein, Ryszard Winiarski, and Tadeusz Kantor.

In May, the local culture and art institutions are organizing an event called Muranów May Day, which was inaugurated in 2021. At that time, many galleries are preparing openings of new exhibitions and a much more extensive accompanying program. Well worth taking your May stroll in this area.

SASKA KĘPA

Le Guern

Looking toward the right bank of the Vistula, it’s worth dropping by Le Guern Gallery in Saska Kępa. It is particularly charming in the spring and summer period, owing to the garden, which is also sometimes used for the exhibitions. The space is open to various activities and presents both recognized and young artists. The gallery regularly works with a host of artists, including Tomasz Baran, Aleksandra Liput, Natalia Załuska, Paweł Matyszewski, and Irmina Staś.

WOLA

Dawid Radziszewski Gallery

The Dawid Radziszewski Gallery, operating in Warsaw since 2013, is a continuation of Poznań’s Pies Gallery. It is located on Kolejowa Street 47a, and its subject of interest is primarily Polish contemporary art and its relationships to foreign artists. It represents artists from Poland and abroad, including Agnieszka Polska, Joanna Piotrowska, Adam Rzepecki, and Krzysztof Grzybacz.

Turnus

An exhibition/cafe space opened in 2023 by graduates of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, Kamila Falencka and MarcelinaGorczyńska, bringing a breath of fresh air to the gallery community. This is the perfect place to discover the newest directions in art,and it will guarantee you a restful weekend afternoon with a mug of coffee or tea. All in the spirit of openness to diversity!

Zachęta – National Gallery of Art – Starting over

If you’re looking to explore some big-city architecture, drop by Zachęta – National Gallery of Art, where something new is waiting for you. Three interesting exhibitions have been held here recently: there was Datament, a site-specific installation by Anna Barlikthat was shown at the last Biennale of Architecture in Venice. There were also two exhibitions presenting artists of the younger generation: The Sun Rises Pale from Behind the Mountains and From the Ashes, curated by Aleksandra Skowrońska and MichalinaSablik, who created remarkable overlapping projects on our contemporary multi-crises. A fresh breeze has come to Zachęta with early spring, and we’re eager to see more!

Remember, if it’s a stroll through art you want, look no further than PURO! In the summer season we organize the PURO Art Walks series, where you can discover these spaces along with us, in the company of art enthusiasts and gallery employees.

Author: Weronika Jakubowska

1. The building of the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, view from Marszałkowska Street, photo by Marta Ejsmont (2023), courtesy of the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw.
2. View of the exhibition Secret Language - Vanessa Disler, Hannah Sophie Dunkelberg, Ewa Partum, Vanessa Safavi, Gunia Nowik Gallery, Warsaw 2024, photo by Katarzyna Legendź, courtesy of Gunia Nowik Gallery.
3. View of the exhibition Anna Orbaczewska, Strange Feelings, Lokal_30, Warsaw 2024, photo by Adam Gut, courtesy of Local_30.
4. ING Polish Art Foundation, photo by Błażej Pindor, pictured are two works from the collection: Mikołaj Moskal, Terrain Sculpture, 2009/2023, Stach Szumski, Bacterial Problems of Offices III, 2018, Courtesy of the ING Polish Art Foundation.
5. Exhibition view of Natalia Załuska, Promenade, Le Guern Gallery, Warsaw 2022-2023, photo by Adam Gut, courtesy of Le Guern Gallery.
6. Turnus - view of the entrance at 46/48 Wolska Street, courtesy of Turnus
7. Marcelina Gorczynska and Kamila Falencka - founders of Turnus, courtesy of Turnus.
8. PURO Art Walk, August 2023.