INDIANAPOLIS, IN.- Guests to the Indianapolis Museum of Art are now greeted by commanding, complex works of painted steel by internationally recognized Polish sculptor Monika Sosnowska.

Sosnowska bends, collapses and twists metal to create sculptures that question the finality of the architectural structures that surround us. Sosnowska’s transformed sculptures—almost unrecognizable from their inspired forms—exist between representation and abstraction, past and present. In particular, her investigation of the past draws from the Soviet-era architecture in her hometown of Warsaw, Poland, where certain buildings have been repurposed or no longer exist. Through her work, Sosnowska addresses how architecture can shape the daily lives of a city’s inhabitants, how buildings hold memories and meaning over time.

The new IMA exhibition—Monika Sosnowska—features three sculptures of varying size by the artist. Two are installed inside and outside the Efroymson Family Entrance Pavilion, with the third on view in the contemporary galleries.

Suspended from the ceiling inside the Pavilion, the monumental Market (2013) is inspired by the kinds of metal stalls that line the outdoor markets of Warsaw. While such markets are not unique to Warsaw, Market references a specific one located there by echoing the stalls’ skeletal structure and a similar shade of green.

This exhibition is one of only a few Pavilion installations to feature work outdoors. On display just outside of the Museum entrance, Gate (2016) takes its form from the commonplace gate—a portal between public and private spaces. A second work with the same title can be seen in the contemporary galleries.

“All of Sosnowska’s sculptures, whether monumental or small, have immediate impact through her distinctive and impressive forms,” said Tricia Y. Paik, curator of contemporary art at the IMA. “She invests in her sculptures a thorough understanding of architectural space as well as political history, how buildings and design can communicate and resonate about the past, present, and future. Sosnowska’s work consistently displays great aesthetic originality as well as thoughtful intellectual rigor—her art is unlike any other sculpture being made internationally.”

This exhibition is made possible by The Efroymson Contemporary Art Fund, an endowed fund at the IMA that was established in 2006 by the Efroymson Family Fund to support work by emerging and established local, national and international contemporary visual artists through a rotating installation program in the Efroymson Family Entrance Pavilion. Past artists and collectives whose work has been supported by the Fund include Allora & Calzadilla, Ball-Nogues Studio, Tony Feher, Friends with You, Orly Genger, William Lamson, Judith G. Levy, Mary Miss, Julian Opie, Heather Rowe, Alyson Shotz, Julianne Swartz, Spencer Finch, Sopheap Pich, Erwin Wurm and Richard Wentworth.

The exhibition will be on display through Aug. 6, 2017.

Born in Poland in 1972, Monika Sosnowska studied at the Academy of Fine Arts, Poland and Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten, Amsterdam. Sosnowska has been featured in solo exhibitions at Fundaça͂o de Serralves, Porto, Portugal (2015); The Contemporary Austin (Betty and Edward Marcus Sculpture Park at Laguna Gloria), TX (2015); Pérez Art Museum Miami, FL (2013); Aspen Art Museum, CO (2013); Public Art Fund, New York, NY (2012); K21 Ständehaus, Düsseldorf, Germany (2011); Artpace, San Antonio, TX (2010); The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY (2006); and Serpentine Gallery, London, England (2004), among others. In 2007, she represented Poland at the 52nd Venice Biennale, Italy and was featured in ILLUMInations at the 54th Venice Biennale, Italy (2011) as well as other group exhibitions at many institutions, such as deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Lincoln, MA (2015); Blaffer Art Museum, University of Houston, TX (2014); Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, OH (2014); Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw, Poland (2014); Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, IL (2012); Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, Belguim (2011); Centre Pompidou, Paris, France (2010); Schaulager, Münchenstein, Switzerland (2008). The artist lives and works in Warsaw, Poland and is represented by Hauser & Wirth.