A New Beginning. Modernism in the Second Polish Republic

A new picture of the first wave of modernism in Poland in the interwar period.

Modernism this time does not signify a stylistic scheme, an attempt to imitate Western art, or what is exclusively new, or even a restriction to art alone. It shows modernism as a multifaceted reaction to modernising processes that brought, as judged, technological progress and social development, but at the same time physical and spiritual degradation.

Artists, together with many reformers of other areas of human life experiencing the unravelling of modernity, came to the conclusion that art should take an active part in the great work of repairing the modern world and help to create it anew, but without repeating the mistakes of the past. In doing so, they saw a particular opportunity in the simultaneous construction of a reborn state. The exhibition therefore shows the various effects of creatively experiencing and engaging with modernity—from paintings to technical inventions, from architecture to designs for textiles, furniture and everyday objects

curatorial team under the direction of Prof. Andrzej Szczerski, PhD, and UAM Prof. Piotr Juszkiewicz, PhD, composed of: Anna Budzałek, Magdalena Czubińska, Alicja Kilijańska, Dr. Bożena Kostuch, Joanna Kowalska, Dr. Mirosław Kruk, Agata Małodobry, Monika Paś, Sabina Serafin, Agnieszka Smołucha-Sładkowska, Magdalena Święch, Dr. Katarzyna Uchowicz
exhibition design: Dagmara Latała, Jacek Latała
coordinator: Katarzyna Szepieniec