LET’S POLISH! DESIGN FROM LONDON, PARIS, VIENNA, BERLIN AND WARSAW
Opening: July, 13th, 7 p.m., designers and curator will be present
Live DJ set (DJ Lenar) from 8 p.m. till 10 p.m.
A question concerning the national identity of a person and a national design that emanates from this identity cannot be clearly answered – and especially not today when we have to admit that, since we live in a world of societal, national, and cultural shifts, every single person in fact has multiple identities. When tracing back our roots to our ancestors, we might still encounter a number of questions. Migration has been an age-old topic but knowing our own roots seems to be reassuring for us. These roots can manifest for example in a certain dialect, or the structures of a certain city that we feel connected to, or in the many national dishes and songs that we have – yet, we cannot be completely sure these things have not been “infiltrated” since older generations.
In fact, a mix of many different identities can be positive for an individual. Therefore, it is particularly interesting to observe how young designers both knowingly and unknowingly deal with their roots as well as with various new identities. In this exhibition, the focus will be on a selected group of designers that are connected to Poland in a variety of ways.
The concept was simple: three design studios, each having a different character but all having Polish background, were invited and asked to suggest another design studio of their choice respectively. Chmara.rosinke invited Kosmos Project, Maria Jeglinska suggested Krzysztof Pyda, and Marta Bakowski chose Jan Hendzel.
In all six cases we are dealing with designers whose works compete both in an experimental and in a commercial space and who are internationally renown and successful. One could truly speak of a European design language. At the same time it is remarkable in how many works colours and patterns/drawings are a strong characteristic of these works. But also meticulous research and a careful and critical observation of the world and our social behaviours. Whether this is a characteristic of Polish design, remains undecided.
Even though this exhibition was meant to show different “Polish” designers, it won’t give any straightforward answer to what defines Polish design. Instead, it will present some brilliant creatives who all have Polish roots, regardless from where they were born and where they grew up. At the same time, they are all citizens of the world. They all combine different influences through which they can constantly enrich the world.
This is neither a polished design, nor simply a Polish design – but an international design that makes use of a strong design language and its own very unique identity.
/Tulga Beyerle/
Polish Institute_RAYS_2 ©Marta Bakowski
The objects have been lent to the Polish Institut by the courtesy of the artists and 1882 Ltd., Autor Rooms by mamastudio, Centrum Designu Gdynia, Ligne Roset