The end of the year is the perfect time to stop and make a top ten list. The year provided many projects and a lot of work, and we all have had an incredibly intense time! To make good use of this experience in the coming year, however, we have to summarize and take stock of whatever we did in 2015. For us – the Contemporary Lynx team – this was a year of breaking down barriers and following our innermost dreams. It was a year of experimentation, hard work, and the faith that your trust in us will give us the wings to create something groundbreaking, something that will push the boundaries – both geographical and mental – even further. We believe that the Contemporary Lynx magazine – released every six months – is that creation. Our magazine-catalogue touches the problems and phenomena in contemporary art and shows, with a focus on how Polish artists actively create international art scenes. The formula adopted by us allows us to present a wide range of interesting articles in our magazines; these are written by respected art historians and philosophers. These texts, with their detailed analysis and various points of view, will become a timeless sign of our times and their creators – the artists. This year we published our first two issues. The experience and the lessons we learnt during the work (based on legitimate decisions but not without unavoidable errors) will be used to create future, even better issues in the coming year. We hope to fulfill your expectations because it is you – our readers – who is the driving force behind our actions. You are our judge. Without you our work is useless. You are the stimulus of our work and development and your satisfaction is our priority.
The huge family of Contemporary Lynx comes from 155 countries and speaks in over 139 languages and we all need art everyday! This is amazing!
However, on the occasion of the New Year’s summaries, we wondered how our picks and intuitions from last year’s events/artists reflected in the published articles on our website.
TOP 3 CLASSICAL ARTISTS:
Edward Krasiński – Continuing on from our last year’s ranking, it seems that the year 2015 also belonged to him. The Museum of Modern Art in New York purchased 9 of his works for their collection! A few months later, the whole cycle of his works from 1972 was shown at ‘Transmissions: Art in Eastern Europe and Latin America, 1960–1980’ (on view till the end of January 2016) and this was not the only one event. We would also like to remind you of the solo show in Paris (Loevenbruck Gallery) and London (Flat Time House). Next year also looks promising – TATE Liverpool…
Abakanowicz, Walking Figures, 2009, bronze, 57th St. Terrace, view 2, photo courtesy the artist and Marlborough Gallery
Magdalena Abakanowicz – An undeniable queen of Polish classical art, her sculptures in the public space that show monumental groups of moving figures draw crowds. They are recognizable around the world and do not allow anyone to pass by indifferently. Subsequent exhibitions in public and private institutions took place this year. Interestingly, her works from the early period (from the 60s) are increasingly being shown during the exhibitions – such as the organic and spatial textiles (exhibited at Marlborough Gallery and Manchester’s Whitworth Art Gallery). More about her work at our website soon…
Tadeusz Kantor during his play Let the Artists Die performed by Cricot2 Theatre, Warsaw, 1986, photo: Wojciech Kryński
Tradeusz Kantor – UNESCO declared 2015 as the year of Tadeusz Kantor. He was a ‘total’ artist; a painter, actor, ‘happener’, stage designer, and a man of theatre. Hence, it is hard to divide his output into individual ‘disciplines’. In 2015 we celebrated the 100th anniversary of his birth through the exhibitions, events, lectures that took place in all culture centres in the world.
TOP 3 EMERGING ARTISTS:
Alicja Kwade | ‘Der Tag ohne Gestern l – lll’, 2014-2015 Parcours in Basel 2015
© Art Basel
Alicja Kwade – Kwade’s mixed-media works manipulate mental perceptions and physical experiences of how the body inhabits space and time. Her common materials include items found in everyday life— coins, metal pipes, mirrors, glass, lights, and bicycles—that she then distorts to create sensory illusions. The results, sometimes slouching or stretching, can appear anthropomorphic. Alicja Kwade works in a large building – formerly a film studio- where we visited her last month. The interview will be available on our website soon…
Monika Sosnowska – The language used by this artist is very distinctive. However, even small changes in this rigorous and well-defined set of rules build completely new constellations. It is the same story told from a different point of view. And despite the fact that it seems familiar, she keeps drawing our attention every time, like in 2015 at Cahiers d’Art (Paris), The Contemporary Austin – The Betty and Edward Marcus Sculpture Park at Laguna Gloria, Ginza Maison Hermès (Tokyo), Fundação De Serralve (Porto). Next year her exhibition will take place at The Modern Institute in Glasgow.
Slavs and Tatars – This international collective of artists is united under the common subject of Eurasia, referring to themselves as the ‘archaeologists of everyday life’. Their artistic activity encompasses a wide range of spheres including politics, sociology, and linguistics. This year their works were shown among others at: Dschinn and Dschuice, Kraupa–Tuskany Zeidler, Berlin; Mirrors for Princes: Both Sides of the Tongue, NYU Abu Dhabi Art Gallery; Long Legged Linguistics, Trondheim Kunstmuseum; Collective Gallery, Edinburgh; and the Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane
Top 3 institutional exhibitions:
Transmissions: Art in Eastern Europe and Latin America, 1960–1980, MoMA, New York
The World Goes Pop, Tate Modern, London
From Hockney to Holbein, The Würth Collection in Berlin
The World Goes Pop, Tate Modern, London
The World Goes Pop, Tate Modern, London
Ewa Partum
Installation view of Transmissions: Art in Eastern Europe and Latin America, 1960–1980 at The Museum of Modern Art, New York (September 5, 2015–January 3, 2016). Photo by Thomas Griesel
Roman Cieślewicz, Wiktor Górka, Andrzej Kostałowski, Jan Lenica, Jan Młodożeniec, Franciszek Starowieyski
Installation view of Transmissions: Art in Eastern Europe and Latin America, 1960–1980 at The Museum of Modern Art, New York (September 5, 2015–January 3, 2016). Photo by Thomas Griesel
From Hockney to Holbein, The Würth Collection in Berlin, © DW, E. Stasik
EMERGING ARTISTS ON OUR RADAR IN 2016:
Tymek Borowski, Marcin Dudek, Kasia Fudakowski, Karolina Jonderko, Ewa Juszkiewicz, Marlena Kudlicka, Krzysztof Maniak, Marzena Nowak, and Natalia Załuska, Jakub Julian Ziółkowski
Mind the Map in 2016:
Budapest, Glasgow, Modena, Liverpool, Phinadelphia, Prague, São Paulo, Skopje, Vienna, New York
Happy New Year and looking forward to an even more eventful year!
