ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
We invite you to a unique exhibition of paintings by Iwa Kruczkowska-Król, an artist whose work draws on her experiences of travel – both geographical and inner. Spread across five spaces within the Palace, the exhibition guides the viewer through various worlds – distant cultures, landscapes and encounters that prompt reflection on nature, humanity and the place we occupy in reality.
In the artist’s paintings, travel is not merely a movement through space. It is, above all, attentive observation – a gaze full of wonder and freshness at what often escapes us in everyday life. Inspirations drawn from India, Africa and other corners of the world intertwine here with a fascination for nature and Zen philosophy, which allows one to perceive value in what is small, fleeting and seemingly insignificant.
Each of the five rooms becomes a separate story – about an encounter with a different culture, about the relationship between humans and nature, about the experience of ‘being on the road’. It is also an invitation to pause – to a moment of mindfulness in which time loses its linearity, and the world reveals itself in all its diversity and beauty.
I am interested in humanity’s relationship with nature, understood here as the world of flora, fauna and the inanimate natural world. The project’s content is inspired by Zen philosophy and the treatment of nature as a source of inspiration that allows one to maintain a distance from matters usually (and thus most often – seemingly) considered the most important, whilst also enabling one to notice small, seemingly insignificant things, pointing to values other than material ones that are essential for modern man.
Alongside a fascination with nature and the perception of seemingly insignificant elements, the human being plays a very important role in my work.
Humanity viewed through the prism of travel in its everyday life, which appears so different from the perspective of someone entering it. The immediate stimulus for these experiences are encounters with a different culture, a different nature of humanity and the natural world, giving me a sense of freshness of perspective, the kind one can only experience in childhood when everything is new, different and fascinating. And this is precisely the common thread linking my fascination with nature and travel: the ability to exist timelessly, detached from routine, yet in a state of fresh, alert wonder.
Iwa Kruczkowska-Król
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Iwa Kruczkowska-Król – Born in Zabrze. A graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków, she received her degree in 2004 in easel painting from the studio of Prof. Jacek Waltoś, with a specialisation in unique textiles under Prof. Lilla Kulka. She obtained a diploma in stage design under the supervision of Prof. Krystyna Zachwatowicz-Wajda in 2004. Between 2011 and 2012, she undertook postgraduate studies at the Faculty of Interior Architecture and Design at the Silesian University of Technology in Gliwice. In 2017, she was awarded a Doctor of Arts degree from the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków. Since that same year, she has been a member of staff at the Faculty of Architecture of the Silesian University of Technology in Gliwice (Department of Fine and Design Arts).
From 2010 to 2014, she was a member of the Board of the Kraków Branch of the Association of Polish Artists and Designers (ZPAP),
From 2014 to 2018, she was a member of the Executive Board of ZPAP.
Between 2004 and 2020, she worked as a set and costume designer on theatre productions, feature films, short films, music videos, advertisements, educational films and video art.
She has organised over 40 solo exhibitions and participated in over 300 group exhibitions in Poland and abroad, often acting as curator of these exhibitions.
She has received numerous awards and distinctions in painting competitions and has been honoured with creative grants from the City of Kraków and the Marshal of the Silesian Voivodeship.
She has taken part in numerous symposia, artist residencies, workshops, open-air events and exhibitions both in Poland and abroad, including in: Japan, the USA, South Korea, France, Germany, Ireland, the UK, Italy, Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, India, Romania, Georgia, Switzerland, Albania, Turkey, Kosovo, Kenya, Tanzania, Togo, Jordan, Colombia, Iran, Morocco, Mongolia, Argentina, Brazil, Nepal, Thailand. She has also participated in Mail Art projects in Canada, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Serbia, Chile and Finland, as well as in online projects in Australia, China, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Egypt, Bolivia and Nigeria.
She works in painting, set design, unique textiles, curating exhibitions and international projects, and art education.
HONORARY PATRONAGE
STAROSTA POWIATU TARNOGÓRSKIEGO
ADAM CHMIEL
WÓJT GMINY ŚWIERKLANIEC
GRZEGORZ ZADĘCKI
PREZYDENT MIASTA ZABRZE
KAMIL ŻBIKOWSKI
MEDIA PATRONAGE
