From March until the end of June 2016, ART MAIN STATION by mia, the gallery, located at the Main Railway Station in Wrocław, ofers a unique event, which is part of the main programme of the European Capital of Culture Wrocław 2016.

The exhibition MEDITATION AND EXPRESSION is a presentation of the achievements and critical attitudes of Bożena Kowalska and Mariusz Hermansdorfer – critics and eminent connoisseurs of Polish contemporary art through the exhibition of the works of exceptional artists: Bożena Kowalska will present the paintings of Wojciech Fangor, Roman Opałka and Kajetan Sosnowoski, while Mariusz Hermansdorfer will show the works of Magdalena Abakanowicz, Władysław Hasior and Alina Szapocznikow.

In the catalogue, Bożena Kowalska writes: Our exhibition has two curator-critics with diferent preferences, therefore it presents works from two diferent artistic narratives. It was also shown in two separate exhibition spaces. One of these options was named a meditation, the other an expression.This does not, however, mean that the works of the creators from under the sign of expression are stripped of the element of meditation, and those defned as meditations are devoid of expression. Bożena Kowalska focuses on artists whose works require a special kind of focus, require the viewer to think, to take the road to contemplation of the work and its ideas. Her charges – Fangor, Opałka and Sosnowski – delight the viewer, each one of them separately. By introducing forms of expression that are absolutely innovative in its time, they tell stories in geometric shapes, numbers and chemical compounds.

The artists to whom Mariusz Hermansdorfer dedicates the MEDITATION AND EXPRESSION exhibition treat their creativity as dissent against the reality of the exiting world – against experiences of war, experiences of concentration camps, or fnally experiences of real socialism. Displaying the selected works of these three artists, the curator shows not only their undeniable genius, but also the memory about the locality of the places where these artists come from, as well as the history of which they were or are a part. The exhibition of the works, which come from the collections of Polish museums or private owners, is meant to draw attention to the role of the art critic and their place in the biographies of the artists, as well as prompt a discussion of art criticism in general, its condition, role and future.

The duet of excellent critics will be presented both in the exhibition and in a specially published catalogue. The organisers, through all their work around the exhibition (film screenings, meetings, discussions), want to bring art to the recipients, encourage informed participation in culture now and in the future, not only on the occasion of the European Capital of Culture.

Magdalena Mielnicka, the initiator, founder and organiser of the gallery at the Main Railway Station, as well as coordinator of the exhibition, adds: This exhibition is the opportunity for an individual journey into the depths of imagination, as well as individual experience of art of the highest quality, based on guidelines full of substance and meaning, in this exceptionally inspiring place, where time is measured by constant travel.

 MEDITATION AND EXPRESSION

5^th of March – 24^th of June 2016

ART MAIN STATION by mia | MAIN RAILWAY STATION, PIŁSUDSKIEGO 105, WROCŁAW

OPEN: TUES-FRI 12 PM – 5 PM, SAT-SUN 12 PM – 4 PM

ADMISSION: FREE

EXHIBITION CURATORS: Bożena Kowalska, Mariusz Hermansdorfer

 ORGANISERS: Fundacja All That Art!, Fundacja Zwierciadło

EXHIBITION COORDINATOR: Magdalena Mielnicka