IZABELLA GUSTOWSKA

Sleepless in Warsaw: lokal_30

 

Sleepless in Warsaw: lokal_30

A.I.R. Gallery, 155 Plymouth Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201

06.08-04.09.2022

Karolina Breguła, Oksana Briukhovetska, Iwona Demko, Justyna Górowska, Katarzyna
Górna, Izabella Gustowska, Zuzanna Janin, Elka Krajewska, Diana Lelonek, Zbignew
Libera, Natalia LL, Monika Mamzeta, Jolanta Marcolla, Jan Możdżyński, Dorota
Nieznalska, Anna Orbaczewska, Ewa Partum, Alicja Wahl, Monika Weiss, Ewa Zarzycka,
Liliana Zeic, Paweł Żukowski

Curated by Agnieszka Rayzacher

A.I.R. Gallery presents Sleepless in Warsaw, a group exhibition of Polish and Ukrainian
artists and the fruit of many years of collaboration with the Warsaw-based gallery lokal_30.
As part of an exchange between the two art venues, this exhibition at A.I.R. is presented
alongside Lather, Rinse, Repeat, an exhibition of A.I.R. artists on view in Warsaw from June
– September 2022.

Sleepless in Warsaw showcases Polish and Ukrainian artists representing a number of
generations: from the doyennes, such as Natalia LL and Jolanta Marcolla; to mid-career
artists, such as Zuzanna Janin and Monika Mamzeta; to artists from the younger generation,
such as Jan Możdżyński and Liliana Zeic.

Sleep disorders are said to be some of the most frequent afflictions suffered during the
current pandemic, which has already lasted for more than two years. The internet is ripe
with advice, friends recommend tried and tested methods to one another, and it seems each
minute a new social media post asks, “What do you do when you cannot sleep?” The war
in Ukraine has added an even more real dimension to our uncertainty and sense of threat.
Sleeplessness results from anxiety around and fear for the future, not only our own, but also
the future of humankind. Metaphorically speaking, sleeplessness can also be seen as a state
of hypersensitivity, an inability to come to terms with the existing order, or rather disorder,
of the world.

On another level, this exhibition seeks to summarize more than fifty years of feminist art in
Poland. This thread relates to the eponymous sleeplessness and attempts to alleviate its
causes. Feminism is seen by these artists as a broadly understood social movement, the goal
of which is not only to achieve equal rights for all living beings, but also to ensure the future
of the planet and worthy lives for its inhabitants.

The exhibition is divided into three sections: the first features new works created during the
last dozen or so years; the second includes pieces originating from the period of democratic
and capitalist transition in Poland; and the third showcases works from the 1970s and early
1980s.

This project is co-organized with the Polish Cultural Institute in New York and made
possible by the generous support of the Richard Lounsbery Foundation, the Trust for Mutual
Understanding, the Capital City of Warsaw, the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, and Beach64retreat.

 

https://www.airgallery.org/exhibitions/sleepless-in-warsaw

 

https://dailyart.news/2022/07/24/events/visual-arts-events/sleepless-in-warsaw-at-a-i-r-gallery/

 

https://www.mutualart.com/Exhibition/Sleepless-in-Warsaw/850956E379AFA358

 

http://lokal30.pl/aktualnosci/sleepless-in-warsaw-lokal_30-at-a-i-r-gallery-nyc/