98 % describe themselves as practicing Catholics

With Poland, the Dorothey von Stetten art price  2022 is dedicating to an extremly polyphonic, vital, and highly reflective art scene – despite, or perhaps, precisely because of the historically often turbulent and currently once again difficult political situation. On the social foundation of a still quite rigid Catholicism (98% of the Polish population describe themselves as practicing Catholics) on the one hand, and an urban neoliberalism on the other, many of the frequently performative and installational artistic projects tend to revolve around issues of identity, nationality and religion. The contem­p­orary young scene thereby differentiates itself from the representatives of the »critical art« of the 1990s, such as Pawel Althamer and Artur Zmijewski, as well as from the post-Com­munist generation of painters, such as Wilhelm Sasnal and Rafał Bujnowski, who in the 2000s placed everyday life and its apparent banalities more ­clearly in the foreground of their research. The ­selection of the positions represented in the exhib- ­ition impressively reflects the range, intensity and critical depth with which the young generation of Polish artists approaches their thematic fields. In this context, Zuza Golińska (*1990) uses her suggestive sculptural arrangements to explore the status of the body in the world, while Diana Lelonek (*1988) creates proliferating installations that cast a critical eye on the idea of unlimited growth and on our irresponsible use of natural ­resources. Finally, Daniel Rycharski (*1986) ­directs his oeuvre, which is deeply suffused with actionist elements, towards overcoming ­anta­g­onisms within Polish culture, and he takes up an unambiguous position against the normative claim of heterosexual orientation.

Exhibition:
Kunstmuseum Bonn, 16/6 – 4/9/2022