MONIKA SOSNOWSKA
Polish sculptor Monika Sosnowska bends, collapses, and twists metal, questioning the finality of the architectural structures that surround us. She creates new abstract objects, whether monumental or small, which often retain vestiges of everyday recognizable forms such as a ladder or staircase.
For this exhibition, a commanding and twisting sculpture Market (2013) will hang from the ceiling of the Efroymson Family Entrance Pavilion. Market was inspired by Sosnowska’s hometown of Warsaw, where one can find outdoor markets populated with metal stalls. Although such markets are not unique to Warsaw, the artist refers to a particular one located there, through a similar use of green and the skeletal structure of the kiosks.
Sosnowska’s contorted sculptures exist between representation and abstraction, between the present and the past. In particular, her investigation of the past addresses the Soviet-era architecture in Warsaw, buildings that no longer exist or have been repurposed. By questioning the certainty of such structures, she is also questioning the finality of history, challenging us to recognize that we are always a society in transition.
Monika Sosnowska – 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.