{"id":6782,"date":"2022-10-18T20:18:58","date_gmt":"2022-10-18T18:18:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/?p=6782"},"modified":"2022-11-17T23:13:39","modified_gmt":"2022-11-17T22:13:39","slug":"pawel-althamer-polish-sculpture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2022\/10\/18\/pawel-althamer-polish-sculpture\/","title":{"rendered":"Pawe\u0142 Althamer: Polish Sculpture"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>October 27-December 17, 2022<br><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.antonkerngallery.com\/exhibitions\/401-pawe-althamer-polish-sculpture\/\">Anton Kern Gallery<\/a><\/strong><br>16 East 55th Street<br>New York, NY 10022<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Opening reception: Thursday, October 27 at 6-8 PM ET.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We are delighted to announce Pawe\u0142 Althamer\u2019s first gallery exhibition in the United States at Anton Kern Gallery. After 30 years of exhibiting throughout Europe, Africa, and Asia and participating in numerous international biennial shows, as well as in Documenta and Skulptur Projekte M\u00fcnster, it is nothing short of a sensation that the acclaimed sculptor and performance artist has chosen this moment to stage a large-scale exhibition in New York. The artist\u2019s previous appearances in the city were a solo exhibition at the New Museum in 2014, and a performance project at the Wrong Gallery in 2003, a one-square-meter pretend gallery space curated by Massimiliano Gioni, Ali Subotnick, and Maurizio Cattelan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For the installation at Anton Kern Gallery, Althamer has intertwined four distinct bodies of sculptures into a network of figures that sprawls over the first and second floors. The viewer will find: a group of five life-size dancers; a group of three small figures on found vintage furniture; three ceramic sculptures depicting the artist\u2019s son Kosma; and eight \u2018sleeping bag\u2019 portrait sculptures. All works were created in Warsaw over the last year and a half. For all the differences in material and process, these four groups are held together by the common thread of the communal experience, for which the theme of the dance creates the fitting, overarching key and vision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This motif, found throughout the ages and in all cultures, has been on Althamer\u2019s mind since high school days, when he first saw Matisse\u2019s&nbsp;<em>Dance<\/em>&nbsp;during a class trip to the Hermitage in St. Petersburg. Since then, the artist has made numerous sculptural and performative renderings of the subject. The ancient and universal theme of dance as a ritualistic, communal, and Dionysian (ecstatic) experience of vitality as well as of suffering and death finds a way into Althamer\u2019s strikingly concrete and contemporary language, without the heavy burden of (art)-history and arcane symbolism, but with the dexterous, agile, and lively manner of a contemporary storyteller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In all his sculptures, Pawe\u0142 Althamer allows the material to speak and help formulate motif and narrative. The Emissaries of Light dancers are made of a hybrid material, applied onto a metal skeleton, that holds the qualities of self-drying papier m\u00e2ch\u00e9 and the malleability of clay, resulting in a stunning natural liveliness of the figures in motion: joyous, uninhibited, and naked. The unique character of the material, smooth when wet and crystalline hard and lightweight like lacquered paper when dry, further enables the artist to manipulate the surface and even incorporate found materials like memorabilia from the dancers\u2019 real lives into the figures\u2019 skin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Similarly, the finely glazed and fragile ceramic portraits of Kosma, shown naked and in lotus position, display a shiny, hard yet delicate surface, unified by the glazing process which allows Althamer to incorporate the sitter\u2019s thoughts-come-to-life head-extensions of fantastical and mythological scenes. The staunch and perplexing naturalism of the figures is presented in harmony with the imaginative world of the portrayed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the core of the \u2018sleeping bag\u2019 sculptures is the artist\u2019s friendship with a group of unhoused people in Warsaw. To portray the many facets of this particular group of friends, their individualism and their existence within a larger, defective societal context, Althamer combines the hyperrealism of the plaster face mask with the concrete objecthood and the symbolism of the sleeping bag. The synergy of the hyperrealist likeness of the mask, with the actual sleeping bags that have been embellished by the group, create sculptures of both&nbsp;great intimacy and political urgency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Born in Warsaw in 1967, Althamer studied under the renowned sculptor Grzegorz Kowalski at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts. Since graduating in 1993, Althamer has established a unique artistic practice featuring an expanded approach to sculptural representation and consistently experimental models of collaboration. He is widely known for the life-size and often haunting figurative sculptures he creates of himself, his family, and various individuals within his community. Althamer\u2019s groundbreaking collaborative projects call for community engagement and social transformation, as most famously evident in the Nowolipie Group, a weekly sculpture workshop he has led since 1994 for people with multiple sclerosis.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pawe\u0142 Althamer\u2019s work has been exhibited worldwide in solo shows at institutions such as Kunstforum Ostdeutsche Galerie, Regensburg, Germany (2022); Lentos Museum, Linz, Austria (2020); HAM Helsinki, Finland (2019); M\u00fcnsterplatz, Zurich, Switzerland (2018); New Museum for Contemporary Art, New York, NY; Deste Foundation for Contemporary Art, Hydra, Greece (both 2014); Sammlung Goetz, Munich, Germany; MUSEION, Bolzano, Italy (both 2012); Deutsche Guggenheim, Berlin, Germany (2011); Secession, Vienna, Austria (2009); Fondazione Nicola Trussardi, Milan, Italy (2007); Mus\u00e9e National d\u00b4Art Moderne, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France (2006); Zach\u0119ta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw, Poland (2005); Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht, The Netherlands (2004); The Wrong Gallery, New York, NY (2003); Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL (2001); and Kunsthalle Basel, Basel, Switzerland (1997).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Althamer has taken part in major international exhibitions including the Helsinki Biennale, Helsinki, Finland (2021); JIWA Jakarta Biennale, Jakarta, Indonesia (2017); Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Kochi, India (2016); Performa 13, New York, NY; 55th Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy (both 2013); 7th Berlin Biennale,&nbsp;<em>Forget Fear<\/em>, Berlin, Germany (2012); the 8th Gwangju Biennale, South Korea;&nbsp;<em>Les Promesses du pass\u00e9<\/em>, Mus\u00e9e National d\u00b4Art Moderne, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France (both 2010);&nbsp;<em>The Fifth Floor: Ideas Taking Spaces<\/em>, Tate Liverpool, Liverpool, UK; After Nature, New Museum for Contemporary Art, New York, NY (both 2008); Skulptur Projekte M\u00fcnster, M\u00fcnster, Germany (2007);&nbsp;<em>Dreams and Conflicts \u2013 The Viewer\u2019s Dictatorship<\/em>, 50th Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy (2003); Manifesta 3, Ljubljana, Slovenia (2000); and documenta X, Kassel, Germany (1997).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Althamer has received the Vincent Van Gogh Bi-Annual Award for Contemporary Art in Europe (2004); the Kunstpreis Aachen (2010); and most recently the Lovis-Corinth-Prize (2022).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>His work is included in the collections of Fondation Beyeler, Riehen, Switzerland; Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany; Mus\u00e9e National d\u00b4Art Moderne, Centre Pompidou, Paris. France; FRAC Normandie Rouen, Sotteville-l\u00e8s-Rouen, France; Tate (London, Liverpool, St Ives); Museion, Bolzano, Itay; Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, Vaduz, Liechtenstein; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht, The Netherlands; Museum of Contemporary Art, Krakow, Krakow, Poland; Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland; Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art, Warsaw, Poland; Zach\u0119ta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw, Poland; National Museum, Wroc\u0142aw, Wroc\u0142aw, Poland; MoMA The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY; Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA, among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lead image: Pawe\u0142 Althamer,&nbsp;<em>Emissaries of Light, Hermes&nbsp;<\/em>(detail), 2022, Metal, papier-mach\u00e9, 77 1\/8 x 74 x 35 7\/8 inches (196 x 188 x 91 cm).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2022\/10\/Screen-Shot-2022-10-18-at-2.18.45-PM.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6784\" width=\"304\" height=\"53\" srcset=\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2022\/10\/Screen-Shot-2022-10-18-at-2.18.45-PM.png 550w, https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2022\/10\/Screen-Shot-2022-10-18-at-2.18.45-PM-300x52.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 304px) 100vw, 304px\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>October 27-December 17, 2022Anton Kern Gallery16 East 55th StreetNew York, NY 10022 Opening reception: Thursday, October 27 at 6-8 PM ET. We are delighted to announce Pawe\u0142 Althamer\u2019s first gallery exhibition in the United States at Anton Kern Gallery. After 30 years of exhibiting throughout Europe, Africa, and Asia and participating in numerous international biennial [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":105,"featured_media":6783,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6782","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","category-visual-arts"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Pawe\u0142 Althamer: Polish Sculpture - Instytut Polski w Nowym Jorku<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2022\/10\/18\/pawel-althamer-polish-sculpture\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"pl_PL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pawe\u0142 Althamer: Polish Sculpture - Instytut Polski w Nowym Jorku\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"October 27-December 17, 2022Anton Kern Gallery16 East 55th StreetNew York, NY 10022 Opening reception: Thursday, October 27 at 6-8 PM ET. We are delighted to announce Pawe\u0142 Althamer\u2019s first gallery exhibition in the United States at Anton Kern Gallery. After 30 years of exhibiting throughout Europe, Africa, and Asia and participating in numerous international biennial [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2022\/10\/18\/pawel-althamer-polish-sculpture\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Instytut Polski w Nowym Jorku\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-10-18T18:18:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-11-17T22:13:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2022\/10\/Screen-Shot-2022-10-18-at-2.15.44-PM.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1270\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"902\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"klaudia\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Napisane przez\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"klaudia\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"event\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2022\/10\/18\/pawel-althamer-polish-sculpture\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2022\/10\/18\/pawel-althamer-polish-sculpture\/\",\"name\":\"Pawe\u0142 Althamer: Polish Sculpture\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2022\/10\/18\/pawel-althamer-polish-sculpture\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":[\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2022\/10\/Screen-Shot-2022-10-18-at-2.15.44-PM.png\",\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2022\/10\/Screen-Shot-2022-10-18-at-2.15.44-PM-300x213.png\",\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2022\/10\/Screen-Shot-2022-10-18-at-2.15.44-PM-1024x727.png\",\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2022\/10\/Screen-Shot-2022-10-18-at-2.15.44-PM.png\"],\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2022\/10\/Screen-Shot-2022-10-18-at-2.15.44-PM.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-10-18T18:18:58+02:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-11-17T22:13:39+02:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/#\/schema\/person\/04d40cd80c1729a7f440613bee4073b6\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2022\/10\/18\/pawel-althamer-polish-sculpture\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"pl-PL\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2022\/10\/18\/pawel-althamer-polish-sculpture\/\"]}],\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"startDate\":\"2022-10-27\",\"endDate\":\"2022-12-17\",\"eventStatus\":\"EventScheduled\",\"eventAttendanceMode\":\"OfflineEventAttendanceMode\",\"location\":{\"@type\":\"place\",\"name\":\"\",\"address\":\"\",\"geo\":{\"@type\":\"GeoCoordinates\",\"latitude\":\"\",\"longitude\":\"\"}},\"description\":\"October 27-December 17, 2022Anton Kern Gallery16 East 55th StreetNew York, NY 10022\\nOpening reception: Thursday, October 27 at 6-8 PM ET.\\nWe are delighted to announce Pawe\u0142 Althamer\u2019s first gallery exhibition in the United States at Anton Kern Gallery. After 30 years of exhibiting throughout Europe, Africa, and Asia and participating in numerous international biennial shows, as well as in Documenta and Skulptur Projekte M\u00fcnster, it is nothing short of a sensation that the acclaimed sculptor and performance artist has chosen this moment to stage a large-scale exhibition in New York. The artist\u2019s previous appearances in the city were a solo exhibition at the New Museum in 2014, and a performance project at the Wrong Gallery in 2003, a one-square-meter pretend gallery space curated by Massimiliano Gioni, Ali Subotnick, and Maurizio Cattelan.\\nFor the installation at Anton Kern Gallery, Althamer has intertwined four distinct bodies of sculptures into a network of figures that sprawls over the first and second floors. The viewer will find: a group of five life-size dancers; a group of three small figures on found vintage furniture; three ceramic sculptures depicting the artist\u2019s son Kosma; and eight \u2018sleeping bag\u2019 portrait sculptures. All works were created in Warsaw over the last year and a half. For all the differences in material and process, these four groups are held together by the common thread of the communal experience, for which the theme of the dance creates the fitting, overarching key and vision.\\nThis motif, found throughout the ages and in all cultures, has been on Althamer\u2019s mind since high school days, when he first saw Matisse\u2019s Dance during a class trip to the Hermitage in St. Petersburg. Since then, the artist has made numerous sculptural and performative renderings of the subject. The ancient and universal theme of dance as a ritualistic, communal, and Dionysian (ecstatic) experience of vitality as well as of suffering and death finds a way into Althamer\u2019s strikingly concrete and contemporary language, without the heavy burden of (art)-history and arcane symbolism, but with the dexterous, agile, and lively manner of a contemporary storyteller.\\nIn all his sculptures, Pawe\u0142 Althamer allows the material to speak and help formulate motif and narrative. The Emissaries of Light dancers are made of a hybrid material, applied onto a metal skeleton, that holds the qualities of self-drying papier m\u00e2ch\u00e9 and the malleability of clay, resulting in a stunning natural liveliness of the figures in motion: joyous, uninhibited, and naked. The unique character of the material, smooth when wet and crystalline hard and lightweight like lacquered paper when dry, further enables the artist to manipulate the surface and even incorporate found materials like memorabilia from the dancers\u2019 real lives into the figures\u2019 skin.\\nSimilarly, the finely glazed and fragile ceramic portraits of Kosma, shown naked and in lotus position, display a shiny, hard yet delicate surface, unified by the glazing process which allows Althamer to incorporate the sitter\u2019s thoughts-come-to-life head-extensions of fantastical and mythological scenes. The staunch and perplexing naturalism of the figures is presented in harmony with the imaginative world of the portrayed.\\nAt the core of the \u2018sleeping bag\u2019 sculptures is the artist\u2019s friendship with a group of unhoused people in Warsaw. To portray the many facets of this particular group of friends, their individualism and their existence within a larger, defective societal context, Althamer combines the hyperrealism of the plaster face mask with the concrete objecthood and the symbolism of the sleeping bag. The synergy of the hyperrealist likeness of the mask, with the actual sleeping bags that have been embellished by the group, create sculptures of both great intimacy and political urgency.\\nBorn in Warsaw in 1967, Althamer studied under the renowned sculptor Grzegorz Kowalski at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts. Since graduating in 1993, Althamer has established a unique artistic practice featuring an expanded approach to sculptural representation and consistently experimental models of collaboration. He is widely known for the life-size and often haunting figurative sculptures he creates of himself, his family, and various individuals within his community. Althamer\u2019s groundbreaking collaborative projects call for community engagement and social transformation, as most famously evident in the Nowolipie Group, a weekly sculpture workshop he has led since 1994 for people with multiple sclerosis.  \\nPawe\u0142 Althamer\u2019s work has been exhibited worldwide in solo shows at institutions such as Kunstforum Ostdeutsche Galerie, Regensburg, Germany (2022); Lentos Museum, Linz, Austria (2020); HAM Helsinki, Finland (2019); M\u00fcnsterplatz, Zurich, Switzerland (2018); New Museum for Contemporary Art, New York, NY; Deste Foundation for Contemporary Art, Hydra, Greece (both 2014); Sammlung Goetz, Munich, Germany; MUSEION, Bolzano, Italy (both 2012); Deutsche Guggenheim, Berlin, Germany (2011); Secession, Vienna, Austria (2009); Fondazione Nicola Trussardi, Milan, Italy (2007); Mus\u00e9e National d\u00b4Art Moderne, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France (2006); Zach\u0119ta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw, Poland (2005); Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht, The Netherlands (2004); The Wrong Gallery, New York, NY (2003); Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL (2001); and Kunsthalle Basel, Basel, Switzerland (1997).\\nAlthamer has taken part in major international exhibitions including the Helsinki Biennale, Helsinki, Finland (2021); JIWA Jakarta Biennale, Jakarta, Indonesia (2017); Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Kochi, India (2016); Performa 13, New York, NY; 55th Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy (both 2013); 7th Berlin Biennale, Forget Fear, Berlin, Germany (2012); the 8th Gwangju Biennale, South Korea; Les Promesses du pass\u00e9, Mus\u00e9e National d\u00b4Art Moderne, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France (both 2010); The Fifth Floor: Ideas Taking Spaces, Tate Liverpool, Liverpool, UK; After Nature, New Museum for Contemporary Art, New York, NY (both 2008); Skulptur Projekte M\u00fcnster, M\u00fcnster, Germany (2007); Dreams and Conflicts \u2013 The Viewer\u2019s Dictatorship, 50th Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy (2003); Manifesta 3, Ljubljana, Slovenia (2000); and documenta X, Kassel, Germany (1997).\\nAlthamer has received the Vincent Van Gogh Bi-Annual Award for Contemporary Art in Europe (2004); the Kunstpreis Aachen (2010); and most recently the Lovis-Corinth-Prize (2022). \\nHis work is included in the collections of Fondation Beyeler, Riehen, Switzerland; Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany; Mus\u00e9e National d\u00b4Art Moderne, Centre Pompidou, Paris. France; FRAC Normandie Rouen, Sotteville-l\u00e8s-Rouen, France; Tate (London, Liverpool, St Ives); Museion, Bolzano, Itay; Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, Vaduz, Liechtenstein; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht, The Netherlands; Museum of Contemporary Art, Krakow, Krakow, Poland; Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland; Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art, Warsaw, Poland; Zach\u0119ta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw, Poland; National Museum, Wroc\u0142aw, Wroc\u0142aw, Poland; MoMA The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY; Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA, among others.\\nLead image: Pawe\u0142 Althamer, Emissaries of Light, Hermes (detail), 2022, Metal, papier-mach\u00e9, 77 1\/8 x 74 x 35 7\/8 inches (196 x 188 x 91 cm).\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"pl-PL\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2022\/10\/18\/pawel-althamer-polish-sculpture\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2022\/10\/Screen-Shot-2022-10-18-at-2.15.44-PM.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2022\/10\/Screen-Shot-2022-10-18-at-2.15.44-PM.png\",\"width\":1270,\"height\":902},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2022\/10\/18\/pawel-althamer-polish-sculpture\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Pawe\u0142 Althamer: Polish Sculpture\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/\",\"name\":\"Instytut Polski w Nowym Jorku\",\"description\":\"Instytuty Polskie\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"pl-PL\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/#\/schema\/person\/04d40cd80c1729a7f440613bee4073b6\",\"name\":\"klaudia\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"pl-PL\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/649cd2d4f6b3f48c5bf42d51f7e665fb?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/649cd2d4f6b3f48c5bf42d51f7e665fb?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"klaudia\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/lukasz.sienkiewicz@msz.gov.pl\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/author\/stypulkowskaa\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Pawe\u0142 Althamer: Polish Sculpture - Instytut Polski w Nowym Jorku","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2022\/10\/18\/pawel-althamer-polish-sculpture\/","og_locale":"pl_PL","og_type":"article","og_title":"Pawe\u0142 Althamer: Polish Sculpture - Instytut Polski w Nowym Jorku","og_description":"October 27-December 17, 2022Anton Kern Gallery16 East 55th StreetNew York, NY 10022 Opening reception: Thursday, October 27 at 6-8 PM ET. We are delighted to announce Pawe\u0142 Althamer\u2019s first gallery exhibition in the United States at Anton Kern Gallery. After 30 years of exhibiting throughout Europe, Africa, and Asia and participating in numerous international biennial [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2022\/10\/18\/pawel-althamer-polish-sculpture\/","og_site_name":"Instytut Polski w Nowym Jorku","article_published_time":"2022-10-18T18:18:58+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-11-17T22:13:39+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1270,"height":902,"url":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2022\/10\/Screen-Shot-2022-10-18-at-2.15.44-PM.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"klaudia","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Napisane przez":"klaudia"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"event","@id":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2022\/10\/18\/pawel-althamer-polish-sculpture\/","url":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2022\/10\/18\/pawel-althamer-polish-sculpture\/","name":"Pawe\u0142 Althamer: Polish Sculpture","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2022\/10\/18\/pawel-althamer-polish-sculpture\/#primaryimage"},"image":["https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2022\/10\/Screen-Shot-2022-10-18-at-2.15.44-PM.png","https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2022\/10\/Screen-Shot-2022-10-18-at-2.15.44-PM-300x213.png","https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2022\/10\/Screen-Shot-2022-10-18-at-2.15.44-PM-1024x727.png","https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2022\/10\/Screen-Shot-2022-10-18-at-2.15.44-PM.png"],"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2022\/10\/Screen-Shot-2022-10-18-at-2.15.44-PM.png","datePublished":"2022-10-18T18:18:58+02:00","dateModified":"2022-11-17T22:13:39+02:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/#\/schema\/person\/04d40cd80c1729a7f440613bee4073b6"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2022\/10\/18\/pawel-althamer-polish-sculpture\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"pl-PL","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2022\/10\/18\/pawel-althamer-polish-sculpture\/"]}],"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","startDate":"2022-10-27","endDate":"2022-12-17","eventStatus":"EventScheduled","eventAttendanceMode":"OfflineEventAttendanceMode","location":{"@type":"place","name":"","address":"","geo":{"@type":"GeoCoordinates","latitude":"","longitude":""}},"description":"October 27-December 17, 2022Anton Kern Gallery16 East 55th StreetNew York, NY 10022\nOpening reception: Thursday, October 27 at 6-8 PM ET.\nWe are delighted to announce Pawe\u0142 Althamer\u2019s first gallery exhibition in the United States at Anton Kern Gallery. After 30 years of exhibiting throughout Europe, Africa, and Asia and participating in numerous international biennial shows, as well as in Documenta and Skulptur Projekte M\u00fcnster, it is nothing short of a sensation that the acclaimed sculptor and performance artist has chosen this moment to stage a large-scale exhibition in New York. The artist\u2019s previous appearances in the city were a solo exhibition at the New Museum in 2014, and a performance project at the Wrong Gallery in 2003, a one-square-meter pretend gallery space curated by Massimiliano Gioni, Ali Subotnick, and Maurizio Cattelan.\nFor the installation at Anton Kern Gallery, Althamer has intertwined four distinct bodies of sculptures into a network of figures that sprawls over the first and second floors. The viewer will find: a group of five life-size dancers; a group of three small figures on found vintage furniture; three ceramic sculptures depicting the artist\u2019s son Kosma; and eight \u2018sleeping bag\u2019 portrait sculptures. All works were created in Warsaw over the last year and a half. For all the differences in material and process, these four groups are held together by the common thread of the communal experience, for which the theme of the dance creates the fitting, overarching key and vision.\nThis motif, found throughout the ages and in all cultures, has been on Althamer\u2019s mind since high school days, when he first saw Matisse\u2019s Dance during a class trip to the Hermitage in St. Petersburg. Since then, the artist has made numerous sculptural and performative renderings of the subject. The ancient and universal theme of dance as a ritualistic, communal, and Dionysian (ecstatic) experience of vitality as well as of suffering and death finds a way into Althamer\u2019s strikingly concrete and contemporary language, without the heavy burden of (art)-history and arcane symbolism, but with the dexterous, agile, and lively manner of a contemporary storyteller.\nIn all his sculptures, Pawe\u0142 Althamer allows the material to speak and help formulate motif and narrative. The Emissaries of Light dancers are made of a hybrid material, applied onto a metal skeleton, that holds the qualities of self-drying papier m\u00e2ch\u00e9 and the malleability of clay, resulting in a stunning natural liveliness of the figures in motion: joyous, uninhibited, and naked. The unique character of the material, smooth when wet and crystalline hard and lightweight like lacquered paper when dry, further enables the artist to manipulate the surface and even incorporate found materials like memorabilia from the dancers\u2019 real lives into the figures\u2019 skin.\nSimilarly, the finely glazed and fragile ceramic portraits of Kosma, shown naked and in lotus position, display a shiny, hard yet delicate surface, unified by the glazing process which allows Althamer to incorporate the sitter\u2019s thoughts-come-to-life head-extensions of fantastical and mythological scenes. The staunch and perplexing naturalism of the figures is presented in harmony with the imaginative world of the portrayed.\nAt the core of the \u2018sleeping bag\u2019 sculptures is the artist\u2019s friendship with a group of unhoused people in Warsaw. To portray the many facets of this particular group of friends, their individualism and their existence within a larger, defective societal context, Althamer combines the hyperrealism of the plaster face mask with the concrete objecthood and the symbolism of the sleeping bag. The synergy of the hyperrealist likeness of the mask, with the actual sleeping bags that have been embellished by the group, create sculptures of both great intimacy and political urgency.\nBorn in Warsaw in 1967, Althamer studied under the renowned sculptor Grzegorz Kowalski at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts. Since graduating in 1993, Althamer has established a unique artistic practice featuring an expanded approach to sculptural representation and consistently experimental models of collaboration. He is widely known for the life-size and often haunting figurative sculptures he creates of himself, his family, and various individuals within his community. Althamer\u2019s groundbreaking collaborative projects call for community engagement and social transformation, as most famously evident in the Nowolipie Group, a weekly sculpture workshop he has led since 1994 for people with multiple sclerosis.  \nPawe\u0142 Althamer\u2019s work has been exhibited worldwide in solo shows at institutions such as Kunstforum Ostdeutsche Galerie, Regensburg, Germany (2022); Lentos Museum, Linz, Austria (2020); HAM Helsinki, Finland (2019); M\u00fcnsterplatz, Zurich, Switzerland (2018); New Museum for Contemporary Art, New York, NY; Deste Foundation for Contemporary Art, Hydra, Greece (both 2014); Sammlung Goetz, Munich, Germany; MUSEION, Bolzano, Italy (both 2012); Deutsche Guggenheim, Berlin, Germany (2011); Secession, Vienna, Austria (2009); Fondazione Nicola Trussardi, Milan, Italy (2007); Mus\u00e9e National d\u00b4Art Moderne, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France (2006); Zach\u0119ta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw, Poland (2005); Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht, The Netherlands (2004); The Wrong Gallery, New York, NY (2003); Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL (2001); and Kunsthalle Basel, Basel, Switzerland (1997).\nAlthamer has taken part in major international exhibitions including the Helsinki Biennale, Helsinki, Finland (2021); JIWA Jakarta Biennale, Jakarta, Indonesia (2017); Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Kochi, India (2016); Performa 13, New York, NY; 55th Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy (both 2013); 7th Berlin Biennale, Forget Fear, Berlin, Germany (2012); the 8th Gwangju Biennale, South Korea; Les Promesses du pass\u00e9, Mus\u00e9e National d\u00b4Art Moderne, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France (both 2010); The Fifth Floor: Ideas Taking Spaces, Tate Liverpool, Liverpool, UK; After Nature, New Museum for Contemporary Art, New York, NY (both 2008); Skulptur Projekte M\u00fcnster, M\u00fcnster, Germany (2007); Dreams and Conflicts \u2013 The Viewer\u2019s Dictatorship, 50th Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy (2003); Manifesta 3, Ljubljana, Slovenia (2000); and documenta X, Kassel, Germany (1997).\nAlthamer has received the Vincent Van Gogh Bi-Annual Award for Contemporary Art in Europe (2004); the Kunstpreis Aachen (2010); and most recently the Lovis-Corinth-Prize (2022). \nHis work is included in the collections of Fondation Beyeler, Riehen, Switzerland; Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany; Mus\u00e9e National d\u00b4Art Moderne, Centre Pompidou, Paris. France; FRAC Normandie Rouen, Sotteville-l\u00e8s-Rouen, France; Tate (London, Liverpool, St Ives); Museion, Bolzano, Itay; Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, Vaduz, Liechtenstein; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht, The Netherlands; Museum of Contemporary Art, Krakow, Krakow, Poland; Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland; Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art, Warsaw, Poland; Zach\u0119ta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw, Poland; National Museum, Wroc\u0142aw, Wroc\u0142aw, Poland; MoMA The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY; Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA, among others.\nLead image: Pawe\u0142 Althamer, Emissaries of Light, Hermes (detail), 2022, Metal, papier-mach\u00e9, 77 1\/8 x 74 x 35 7\/8 inches (196 x 188 x 91 cm)."},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"pl-PL","@id":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2022\/10\/18\/pawel-althamer-polish-sculpture\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2022\/10\/Screen-Shot-2022-10-18-at-2.15.44-PM.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2022\/10\/Screen-Shot-2022-10-18-at-2.15.44-PM.png","width":1270,"height":902},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2022\/10\/18\/pawel-althamer-polish-sculpture\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Pawe\u0142 Althamer: Polish Sculpture"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/#website","url":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/","name":"Instytut Polski w Nowym Jorku","description":"Instytuty Polskie","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"pl-PL"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/#\/schema\/person\/04d40cd80c1729a7f440613bee4073b6","name":"klaudia","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"pl-PL","@id":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/649cd2d4f6b3f48c5bf42d51f7e665fb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/649cd2d4f6b3f48c5bf42d51f7e665fb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"klaudia"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/lukasz.sienkiewicz@msz.gov.pl"],"url":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/author\/stypulkowskaa\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6782","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/105"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6782"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6782\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7032,"href":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6782\/revisions\/7032"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6783"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6782"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}