Polish Artists Visit Toowoomba
The University of Southern Queensland will present the Australian premiere of Polish artwork from the Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Art and Design in Wroclaw at the USQ Art Gallery this month.
This unique showcasing of key graphic prints and multimedia works by professors and students from the Academy offers an opportunity to experience the rich technical and aesthetic traditions of Polish art and culture.
As part of this international exhibition, the University of Southern Queensland will welcome two visiting artists from the Academy, Dr Malgorzata Warlikowska (Graphic Art) and Dr Maja Wolinska (Multimedia).
Curator of the exhibition and USQ Lecturer in Visual Arts, Dr Beata Batorowicz said that “we are pleased to not only present the works themselves but also to host two visiting artists from the Wroclaw Art and Design Academy who will be working with our students in ceramic and graphic art workshops.
“It is quite exciting for our students to be given such a personal and hands-on insight into what is happening in terms of the arts on the other side of the globe.”
The Polish Art Exhibition is a two-part show which will be presented in several areas in and around the USQ Arts Gallery.
“The exhibition features 21 graphic works which are technically beautiful and diverse in their processes ranging from etchings, lithographs, screen prints and digital media.
“The detail, combined with a sense of immediacy within the works, is quite extraordinary and they embody a long tradition of technical focus, resonating in a unique aesthetic that is culturally based.”
The multimedia works will include animation screenings, multiple projections and sound.
“This exhibition is really important in terms of building an initial cross-institutional relationship which will offer future research and learning opportunities for both our staff and students.
“The idea behind this collaborative exhibition originally came from my contact with the Academy about a research project, Tales within Historical Spaces I began working on in 2010.
“As the project looks at my Polish heritage through family stories relating to WWII, it was important for me to return to my birthplace of Wroclaw, to see (particularly) my 91-year old grandmother who was able to retell her war experiences first-hand.
“The Wroclaw Academy was kind enough to support my project and it was when I met with the Vice Rector, Professor Piotr Kielan and the International Affairs Officer, Beata Ludwiczak that I realised there was a wonderful opportunity to work collaboratively - on a much larger scale- in the form of an exhibition exchange.”
The Polish Art Exhibition will be officially opened by USQ Dean of Arts, Professor Peter Goodall on Tuesday 13 March at 5pm in the USQ Arts Gallery.
The exhibition will continue in until 12 April and the gallery is open on weekdays from 9am to 5pm.
In conjunction with the exhibition, the visiting international artists will also present a free public lecture at 12noon on 14 March in the USQ Arts Theatre discussing contemporary Polish art, their own art practice and also touching on the amazing history of the Wroclaw Art Academy.