Social issues, humor and observations of everyday life – the female talents of contemporary Polish illustration and design will be presented at the online exhibition POLKI Hidden Power, organized by The Spirit of Poland foundation and WantedDesign NY, in partnership with the Polish Cultural Institute New York.

Curator Monika Brauntsch speaks about POLKI Hidden Power on Clever Podcast, following the discussion about design as a catalyst for change.

The exhibition, comprising the works of Polish women: illustrators and ceramic artists that broach the subject of womanhood in their art, will be presented between October 15 and December 15, 2020 at the WantedDesign Online Exhibition. The aim of the exhibition is to present the achievements of contemporary Polish illustration and design, as well as to take a closer look at Polish women – POLKI, and seek out traces of the feminine, hidden power in their work and art.

The exhibition presents both the work of Polish illustrators as well as designers, particularly ceramists, that either allude to the subject of womanhood or to the art and objects that embody its strength as great pieces of feminine art. It shows the work of both recognized and emerging Polish female artists: Basia Grzybowska Flores, Maria Jeglińska, Izabela Kaczmarek – Szurek, Malwina Konopacka, Kaja Kusztra, Aleksandra Morawiak, Magdalena Pankiewicz, Sabina Samulska, and Ewelina Skowrońska. The online exhibition will feature their work and short films presenting the artists themselves. Their work will be also for sale at the WantedDesign Pop-Up store at Brooklyn’s Industry City in December.

„As I continued to view the artwork of the Polish women, I found myself engrossed in the intimacy of small, everyday individual conditions: body hair, weight gain, meditation, child rearing and house plants. These quotidian concerns are elevated as experiences worthy of unapologetic expression. This is hidden power” – says Carol Flueckiger from the School of Art, Texas Tech University.

“POLKI Hidden Power” is curated by Monika Brauntsch, in collaboration with the artist Ewelina Skowrońska and Carol Flueckiger, Associate Professor, School of Art, Texas Tech University. In 2018 the exhibition was shown at the San Francisco Design Week and at the Museum of Texas Tech University, accompanied by class visits and the Mini Feminist Film Festival, organized by TTU Women’s & Gender Studies. In 2019 it was presented at Austin Design Week.

Hyperallergic: Polish Cultural Institute Presents POLKI Hidden Power

The project is organized in partnership with the Polish Cultural Institute New York and financed by the funds of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, within the scope of the Multiannual Program INDEPENDENT 2017-2022, as part of the “Cultural bridges” subsidy program of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute.