words
by Iwa Kruczkowska-Król
I am an
artist who likes to work with people. For a musician, dancer or actor, this is
obvious. However, for a visual artist – a painter – it is not so clear. Looking
at us from the side-lines, it seems we are regulars in salons and galleries,
but the truth about painters is that we spend most of our time alone in the
studio. The preparation of an exhibition is generally done behind closed doors,
and only the artist knows how much struggle and time it costs him to prepare
the work. Claude Monet said a painter is
a hostage to his painting, perpetually trapped in the studio. For this very
reason, visual artists are solo artists. Despite all this, or perhaps because
of it, there are many visual artists who work socially, collaboratively for and
with others. This is a necessary counterbalance to our daily
“solitary” creative reality. I know from experience that working with
people can be learned, and the ability to work in a team is very useful; it
gives distance from oneself but also teaches assertiveness and restraint.
Tempering one’s ego is essential in teamwork, as is the ability to push through
good ideas.
I was
fortunate enough to start working as a production designer in theatre and film
while still in college, which was an excellent school for me regarding
responsibility for assigned tasks, patience and respect for others who work for
one common work. I consolidated these
skills during an internship abroad in the Netherlands and many artistic
symposia (Slovakia, Hungary, Georgia, Jordan, Turkey, Germany) and residencies
(e.g. France, Korea). Such trips helped me develop social and language skills
and allowed me to observe other creative environments. This proved extremely
useful when, in turn, I worked as a curator and coordinator of foreign projects
with colleagues for the Association of Polish Artists and, later, in
independent projects with friends in the “77” Group organising
exhibitions in Poland and abroad (Düsseldorf, Nuremberg, Sofia,
Vilnius). It was an excellent time to learn how to solve problems with
transportation, customs documents and financial support. It became natural for
me to always do something with someone and continuously work as a team to
create an exciting project. During my doctoral studies, my colleagues and I
began cooperating with foreign Polish centres, which often helped us with visa
procedures and work transportation. As a consequence of such activities, we
were able to organise many exhibitions of Polish art abroad, and our project
“Exercise” was probably the first and only doctoral project of its
kind aimed at the cooperation of a group of students to promote the university
abroad. Exhibitions were then organised in St. Petersburg, London, Dublin, New
York, Chicago, Budapest, Lviv, and Krakow.
My real
breakthrough was bringing foreign artists to Poland, with whom I began to
exhibit. I organised my first exhibition for Japanese artist Noriko Kawauchi,
whom I met while in Japan. Exhibitions from this project were held in Krakow
and Katowice. It was a small project with only an invited artist, who brought
her own ceramics in a suitcase, and me. I slowly gained experience and boldness
in my actions. When I started working with amateur artists from Group 18 –
Obsidian in 2017, the opportunity came to initiate a project abroad with India.
We were able to organise an exhibition of Polish artists in Jaipur, India. (Of
course, the important thing is that, as in previous projects, it was a team
effort, such projects cannot be organised alone, so it was a collaboration of
the entire 18-Obsydian Group). The conclusion of this project was an Indian
evening in Poland, which was an opening of Polish and Indian artists in Zabrze.
The exhibition was combined with henna workshops, delicacies of Indian cuisine,
fabric dyeing workshops and, of course, the opportunity to try on an Indian
sari. The involvement of a whole team of people resulted in a deep sense of
unity and responsibility for the project. Each artist was assigned a function.
One person was responsible for communicating with the Indian side; another was
tasked with proofreading the text, designing the catalogue, or even cutting the
slats to display the works. Group 18 – Obsidian’s exhibition in India lasted ten
days, but the project expanded to other activities; I started painting Indian
motifs myself, thus organising many more related exhibitions of my own art. The
international cooperation lasted until 2022, during the pandemic resulting in
several online exhibitions. The joy of the experience of this project led us to
start thinking about another, this time an African project. However, the
pandemic meant we had to limit our search to Poland. As a result of the
quarantine and sanitation regime, I started looking for contacts with artists
from Africa living in Poland. We found an incredible artist, an amateur who
comes from Mali and lives permanently in Cracow. We found his work and
personality incredibly interesting and inspiring. The project’s theme also took
us to the African Museum to learn about the art and culture of the
continent. The result was a series of
exhibitions organised in Krakow, Zabrze and Katowice. Group 18 -Obsydian
participated in a charity concert for the construction of a school in Africa
and organised a summary of the project in the form of an African evening. In
parallel to the activities carried out with the 18 – Obsidian Group, I
continued the African project also individually, painting paintings inspired by
Africa, inviting professional artists who also experienced travel to Africa to
exhibit, thus creating joint art exhibitions, often accompanied by commentary,
specialists (tourist guides ). The project was guided by meetings with
missionaries and doctors, discussing their experiences working in Africa and
presenting photo documentation of the moments experienced.
Things
don’t always happen chronologically. While collaborating on one project with
Group 18 – Obsidian, I also organised other activities. Thus, when I was
finishing the African project with my painting exhibition accompanied by
workshops for children and adults at the Zabrze City Museum, at the same time
my colleagues and I were already in the process of realising the project of the
International Postal Art Exhibition “Luna Possibly Mars” dedicated to
the 100th anniversary of Stanislaw Lem’s birth. It was a project aimed at
international artists, carried out in a team of four and in cooperation with
the Stanislaw Lem Foundation (honorary patronage) and the “Science I
Like” Foundation (media patronage). The project included two exhibitions,
already in the real world and not remote, and one online exhibition. Catalogues
and calendars with reproductions of the works were designed and published.
About 240 artists from 50 countries participated in the exhibition. At the same
time, we were putting the finishing touches on the project of the international
exhibition “Stuka from recycled”, which united the community of
artists from Krakow and Gliwice, as well as from the USA, India, and Germany.
The exhibition was held at the Ruins of the “Victoria” Theatre in
Gliwice. The “Art of Recovery”
project was carried out with artists we had met earlier during projects
conducted during our doctoral studies. All these activities brought us much
joy, and the fact that it was possible to do something despite bad fate, like a
pandemic, despite logistical and financial problems, brought us even closer,
artists who are thirsty for company and cooperation, so that later, as part of the
tranquillity, we could again lock ourselves in the studio and devote ourselves
quietly to our work.
Iwa Kruczkowska-Król born in Zabrze, the southern part of Poland. She got her university
diploma with first-class honours from the painting studio of Professor Jacek
Waltoś, with the annexe from artistic tapestry under the supervision of
Professor Lilla Kulka. She earned her speciality stage design diploma in 2004
under the supervision of Professor Krystyna Zachwatowicz-Wajda. During 2011-
2012 she did her postgraduate studies at the Faculty of interior design and
design of the Silesian University of Technology in Gliwice. Iwa got her PhD in 2017 at the Academy of
Fine Arts in Cracow. Since then, she has worked at the Faculty of Architecture
at the Silesian University of Technology in Gliwice. From 2004 to 2020, she
participated as a production designer and costume designer in the production of
theatre, feature films, shorts films, music videos, commercials, educational
films and video art.
She has participated
in many personal (over 30) and collective (over 270) exhibitions (many times
also curating the exhibitions) in Poland, USA, Ireland, England Germany,
France, Hungary, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Italy, Japan, Russia,
Ukraine, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Belgium, India, Switzerland, Albania, South
Korea, Georgia, Jordan, Turkey. Including Mail-Art projects in Spain, Puerto
Rico, Mexico, Austria, Argentina, Serbia, Kyrgyzstan, Finland, Chile,
Argentina, Brazil and online projects in Australia, Nepal, China, United Arab
Emirates, Indonesia, Bolivia, Egipt, Nigeria.
Awarded many times in
painting competitions and honoured with creative scholarships from the City of
Cracow and the Marshal of the Silesian Voivodeship.
Her work deals with
painting, scenography, unique fabric and artistic education.
Iwa works in many
state-run and private collections in the country and abroad.
PICTURES:
Iwa
Kruczkowska „Makasutu”, 2020 (oil on canvas; 125×125 cm)
Iwa Kruczkowska „Owoc baobabu”, 2020 (oil
on canvas; 120×130 cm)
