„The exhibition displays Collection II of the Arsenal Gallery in Białystok, created in 1990. It was completed between 2005 and 2016 in a joint effort by the Gallery and the Podlasie Society for the Fine Arts as part of the "Signs of the Time" program. The exhibition presents the most important phenomena in Polish art and it reflects changes in culture after the period of transformation.
In Poland, 2017 was declared the Year of the Polish avant-garde. This has prompted us to reflect not only on the shape of the avant-garde of the 1920s or the neo-avant-garde of the 1960s in Poland, but also to ponder over the state of research of these phenomena and their significance for us today. The most interesting question is how modern artists assimilate and process avant-garde experiences and if they consciously reach for its tools. We are wondering whether the avant-garde is an inspiration for them, whether it has influenced the formation of their way of expression?
We do not reach for the whole spectrum of Polish art, but only for a section of one collection, because even a small fragment confirms the legitimacy of the questions asked.”
Monika Szewczyk
Director of the Arsenal Gallery in Białystok
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