Polish Artists are braking the last taboo
Private View: Saturday 29 October 2011, 18.00 – 21.00 hours
29 October – 5 November, Mon – Wed 8.00am – 6pm, Thur – Fri 8.00 am – 6.30pm
UNIT24 Gallery
20 Great Guildford Street
London SE1 0FD
FREE
Whilst artists are considered free to express themselves here in the west, many face huge amounts of pressure for addressing matters deemed ‘offensive’, particularly when it comes to Islam. Artist Sooreh Hera in the Netherlands and artists Lee-Anne Raymond and Demetrios Vakras in Melbourne, Australia come to mind, raising serious questions about tolerance of dissent.
Clearly, criticism of religion is not racist. In fact open disagreement and the freedom to criticise tradition, culture and religion are essential for social progress. This must be a reason why Polish artists speak out during Passion for Freedom 2011 London Festival. Last year’s edition presented works of Golden Medallist at Warsaw Poster Biennale; Maja Wolna and award winning documentary ‘Little Bride’ by Leszek Dobrucki.
This year’s edition is proud to present four Polish artists: Magdalena Czubak–Vlasak (Poland/USA), Artur Zarczyński (United Kingdom), Roland Okoń (Poland) and Ewa Zasada (Poland/Austria).
Magdalena Czubak-Vlasak born in 1984, completed her Masters degree at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts in 2009. She currently lives works in Boston, USA. Her painting ‘No Title (And Not Needed Ones Are Needed)’ leaves us with uncomfortable feeling of uncertainty for the fate of the ones that do not conform to the norms and restrictions imposed on them.
Ewa Zasada graduated from the Krakow Academy of Fine Arts, Department of Graphic Arts in Katowice. For the past several years she lives and works between Katowice and Vienna. Her most recent exhibitions include: Common Spaces, Körös Museum, in Oradea, Romania; Suburbs, Gallery “Alte Schiebekammer” in Vienna and Solway Centre for Contemporary Art, Krakow and Gallery of Academy of Fine Arts, Krakow
Roland Okoń born in 1973, studied Masters degree in architecture at Technical University in Wroclaw and in Delft, the Netherlands. He is a photographer, graphic designer, DJ and a musician. He has developed his photographic language during while travelling around Asia, Africa and North America. He exhibited widely in Poland and abroad. He received an award “Naked in Poland” from Gazeta Wyborcza.
Artur Zarczyński born in Wroclaw in 1981, initially he studied Political Science, “subject that broadened my knowledge about the world and laid foundation for my current work” – Artur admits. He lives in London, where he started his artistic career. Recently he has taken part in a group show ‘Matter and Spirit’ at POSK Gallery, Hammersmith.