Reincarnation

The main part of the Fotofestiwal program is being developed under the supervision of prof. Józef Robakowski and is dedicated to the Łódź art scene. The collective exhibition “Reincarnation” in Art_Inkubator at Fabryka Sztuki in Łódź will feature works by 34 artists, incl. Ryszard Waśko, Aleksandra Ska, Karolina Breguła, Karolina Wojtas and Grzegorz Przyborek.

Łódź is not only a city, it is a cultural phenomenon. Historically, it has been perceived as a place that was “punished by industry”, a town of wounded identity, where art became a remedy against the dull, wearisome life of the working class. Possibly, this factor of sharing and co-operation has prepared the ground for many avant-garde groups and artistic movements, institutions and events, such as the Jung Jidysz group, “a.r.” group who co-created the Museum of Art in Łódź, Workshop of the Film Form, Łódź Kaliska, Chip-In Culture (Kultura Zrzuty), Construction in Process, and Łódź Biennale. Inspired with a similar idea, 20 years ago, the cooperation of students and teachers of three academies: the University of Łódź, the Academy of Fine Arts and the Film School in Łódź, resulted in the creation of Fotofestiwal. What is common for all those initiatives? Avant-garde, crazy spirit, enthusiasm, collective nature, and – according to Prof. Józef Robakowski – “the crankiness of Łódź”.

And this is how the exhibition titled “Reincarnation  2021” is being brought to life. It is a manifestation of collective culture and freedom. The authors, invited to co-create this group project, represent three generations of the artists of Łódź – from the patron of the exhibition, Wacław Antczak, born in 1911, to the contemporary artists who have debuted during last 10 years. Each of them had their own share in creating, at some moment of their life, the melting pot of the city. Presented works often refer to important historical events of the last 50 years, however, the main narrative of the exhibition focuses the current and universal matters; individualism, freedom and creative space. The main links of the display are the most characteristic or most current motifs in the artists’ works.

The leitmotif is the city of Łódź as the space for art, and most of all, as the space for life. According to avant-garde Russian artist Mikhail Matyushin: “Art, yes… but the utmost importance is upon life!”.

Artists:
Wacław Antczak
Karolina Breguła
Aleksandra Chciuk
Artur Chrzanowski
Tatiana Czekalska / Leszek Golec
Jakub Dylewski
Marek Domański
Magdalena Franczuk
Jerzy Grzegorski
Paweł Hajncel
Elżbieta Janicka
Irena Kalicka
Witosław Krymarys / Józef Robakowski
Konrad Kuzyszyn
Andrzej Kwietniewski
Katarzyna Maluga
Aleksandra Mańczak
Andrzej Miastkowski
Anna Orlikowska
Andrzej Paruzel
Igor Pisuk
Małgorzata Potocka
Łukasz Prus-Niewiadomski
Grzegorz Przyborek
Wojciech Puś
Aleksandra SKA
Kacper Szalecki / Anna Wacławek
Ryszard Waśko
Piotr Tomczyk
Karolina Wojtas
Piotr Zbierski