Someone I Have Been Observing for Some Time

Alicja Bielawska, Cezary Poniatowski, Dominik Ritszel, and Jakub Woynarowski


On Thursday, September 21st 2017 at 19.00, the Polish Institute in Rome and Fondazione Pastificio Cerere are presenting the collective exhibition Un tale che osservo da un po' di tempo (Someone I Have Been Observing for Some Time), with artworks by Alicja Bielawska, Cezary Poniatowski, Dominik Ritszel, and Jakub Woynarowski. The exhibition is curated by Simone Ciglia, Alessandra Troncone, Marco Trulli, and Saverio Verini and is opening to visitors from September 22nd to October 14th 2017. The exhibition – which title refers to a poem by poet Wislawa Szymborska and hints at the curatorial process of study and observation of the Polish artistic scene – closes the project What’s the Weather in Poland?.This project was conceived by Marcello Smarrelli, art director at Fondazione Pastificio Cerere, and Ania Jagiello, Polish Institute contemporary art program supervisor. The project was structured in two main parts: the first one was a research trip to Poland, during which the four curators visited Bytom, Krakow, Warsaw, and Lodz; there, they had the chance to explore the Polish contemporary art scene. The second part was a two-meeting cycle at Fondazione Pastificio Cerere, which the guest artists participated in: Alicja Bielawska, Cezary Poniatowski, Dominik Ritszel, and Jakub Woynarowski.
To conclude this research, the exhibition focuses on the artworks dialogue as a further piece of a process based on artists-curators exchange during the project developing months. More than identifying a common line among the artists, Someone I Have Been Observing for Some Time aims at acknowledging and emphasizing the approach and topics diversity, by underlining shared and contrasting points through visual conversations involving different media: from installations to painting, from video to drawing and architecture.  Alicja Bielawska’s research on the material aspects of daily life and objects, interiors and memories relations, which is translated into sculptures and installations where shapes and colors are perfectly balanced; Cezary Poniatowski’s painting, which is based on fantasy shapes that often overcome space; Dominik Ritszel’s videos, where control and discipline concepts are shaped through a nervous visual approach; and finally, Jakub Wojnarowski’s conspiracy theories on art, which draw a complex scenario that is aimed at disclosing the vitality of the Polish artistic generation of the Eighties. With this project, the Foundation confirms once again its role of cultural hub and experimentation and education vital spot in which different disciplines intertwine; it reaffirms its role of space to recreate creative energy operating within its territory, carefully looking at the international artistic scene. Un tale che osservo da un po' di tempo is included in the Anno della Vistola program activities.