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Description

Wanda Czełkowska (1930-2021) was a key figure of the Polish avant-garde, whose oeuvre remained almost unnoticed by art history until recently. She started her career near the end of the 1950s in Kraków and played an important role in the development of conceptual art in Poland. As a member of the famous the Second Kraków Group she kept her independent voice and never fully committed to the artistic discourse and social life of the group. Those who knew her, often refer to her as someone who treads her own, separate path. Her œuvre was driven by a profound belief in the intelligence and authenticity of art, which led her beyond formal or political considerations: ‘art uncovers truths of the world’, she wrote in her notes. In this sense, the artist remained a worthy heir of avant-garde thought, never giving in to postmodern disillusion. Unlike her contemporaries, Alina Szapocznikow and Magdalena Abakanowicz, her work remains largely unknown outside of Poland.

In this fully illustrated monograph, a wide range of prominent authors from different generations and backgrounds contextualize Wanda Czełkowska’s practice within post-war international discourses such as abstract and conceptual art, feminist practices, human body and its relation to space. The list of authors includes Émilie Bouvard, Mathieu Copeland, David Crowley, June Geddes, Antonina Gugała, Amelia Jones, Charlotte Matter, Abigail Solomon-Godeau, Agnieszka Tarasiuk, Matylda Taszycka (editor) and Sarah Wilson.

The monograph is another position in the series initiated by the Muzeum Susch dedicated to the rediscovery of women artists who have been neglected by the main discourses and canons of art history.