LONDON.- Abbey House, Poland’s renowned fine art auctioneer, announced an exhibition of contemporary Polish art at the Saatchi Gallery. Opening on 3 June 2013, the exhibition will showcase work by some of the country’s foremost contemporary artists.
Founded in 2010, Abbey House provides an important platform for the growing artist community in Warsaw and through this survey aims to increase international awareness of the burgeoning Polish art scene. The exhibiting artists include established names Szymon Artur Urbański and Andrzej Cisowski who have gained recognition throughout Central and Eastern Europe, as well as recent graduates, Maciej Wieczerzak and Jakub Słomkowski who are already rising stars on the Polish contemporary art scene.
Andrej Cisowski’s large paintings use a range of expressive but mannered methods that shift from the photographic to the graphic to create a composite of history through cartoon and art historical reference. Urbanski’s paintings suggest a medievalisation of futurism; his depictions of the toiling peasant and cart-wheeling jester are an exasperated questioning of society now. By contrast, the use of strong outline in Wieczerzak’s paintings suggests a more modern optimism yet one perhaps diminished, by reflecting a dampened saturated repetition of sexual and gaming oblivion. Slomkowski’s works are more reflective in appearance, giving just as much emphasis to the virtual space between the forms as to the forms themselves to create balanced compositions.
The exhibition will be curated by acclaimed art critic and author Sacha Craddock. She comments: “I am delighted to be given the opportunity to research and select such a substantial exhibition from out of a solid and varied range of contemporary Polish Art. My sense of discovery will, I hope, be reflected in the experience of members of both professional and lay audience as they gain a deeper, or perhaps initial, understanding of the thrilling level of artistic activity in Poland.”
As one of the fastest growing markets in Central Eastern Europe, Poland’s rapidly growing artistic community is now attracting the attention of international collectors. With a market estimated at USD 100m, Poland has become the regional leader in art trade and auctions. This momentum is in no small part due to the many impressive publicly and privately funded projects which have helped to build an international presence.
Abbey House has been instrumental in this market growth as it has given private collectors access to the best contemporary art. Working with a carefully selected group of artists the organisation was the first to offer up art as a serious investment opportunity in Poland. Since the company was founded in 2010 it has already seen positive reception on the local art market having set up the first Polish art fund, Abbey Art Fund in 2011 and acquired established monthly magazine Art&Business. This London exhibition will be an important step in encouraging greater awareness of Polish contemporary art.
The Founder of Abbey House, Pawel Makowski was recently recognised by the Polish Ministry of Culture for his significant contribution to contemporary art in Poland. He comments: “We are delighted to present this important exhibition of Polish artists at the Saatchi Gallery. It concludes more than two years of efforts aimed at gaining recognition for Poland on an international level in the capital of the UK. We believe that the group of Polish artists due to show their works here in London will be of significant interest to a new audience”.
