News — Jun 22, 2017

Amsterdam, 15 June 2017- Edward Krasiński (1925-2004) was the leading figure in the Polish avant-garde of the 1960s and ’70s, whose work is currently being rediscovered by a young generation of artists and curators. After Tate Liverpool, the Stedelijk Museum now presents the first retrospective by one of Eastern Europe’s most notable artists. The exhibition explores Krasiński’s entire artistic career, from the sculptures made using found objects in the early 1960s, to his later installations, and underlines his experimental approach to making objects, spatial installations and exhibitions.

Inspired by prewar avant-garde movements such as Polish Constructivism, Krasiński’s work combines a wry sense of humor and a fascination with chance. The retrospective features over fifty works, including suspended objects and wire sculptures, that testify to his interest in sculpture as line. In 1968, he introduced blue Scotch tape into his work. This simple, ready-to-use material, with which he connected spaces and objects, would become his trademark. Explaining its role in his work, he said, “I place it horizontally at a height of 130 centimeters everywhere and on everything. I encompass everything with it and go everywhere.”

Click here for the full press release. 

Edward Krasinski, Intervention 27, 1975, Scotch tape and paint on hardboard. Courtesy: Tate London

Opening Edward Krasiński

During the opening on Friday 23 June, the Stedelijk Museum is organizing a talk about Edward Krasiński. Senior curator Kasia Redzisz (Tate Liverpool) and Anka Ptaszkowska, art critic and, like Krasiński, co-founder of the Foksal Gallery in Warsaw, give a short presentation.

Program 
20.00 hrs.:        commencement (Audi gallery)
20.15 hrs.:        word of welcome, Director Beatrix Ruf 
20.20 hrs.:        viewing of the exhibition
21.00 hrs.:        welcome by Leontine Coelewij (Teijin Auditorium)
21.05 hrs.:        speakers Kasia Redzisz and Anka Ptaszkowska
22.00 hrs.:        end

Admission to the opening is free. Please click here to register.  

Edward Krasinski, Intervention, 1969, courtesy Paulina Krasinska and Foksal Gallery Foundation

SUNDAY SEMINAR: Krasiński in Context

In autumn 2017, the Stedelijk will hold a Sunday Seminar which will place the oeuvre of Krasiński within a broad context of artists’ networks and contemporary art in the former Eastern Europe of the 1960s and 1970s. The seminar will also explore a number of key events that shaped artists’ practices, including Farewell to Spring in Zalesie.
Mor einformation will soon be available on our website. 

Publication

The exhibition is accompanied by a publication with essays by Jean-François Chevrier, Kasia Redzisz, Karol Sienkiewicz and Stephanie Straine, which position Krasiński within the context of the avant-garde tradition and global minimalism, and shed light on the performative aspects of his work.
The publication is a co-production with Tate Liverpool.
Price € 19.95 | 24 x 21.5 cm | English | ISBN 978-1-84976-492-6 | Design: Sara De Bondt

The exhibition is curated by Leontine Coelewij, Curator Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and Kasia Redzisz, Curator Tate Liverpool. The exhibition is organized by Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and Tate Liverpool.

Edward Krasiński is made possible with the support of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, operating under the Culture.pl brand.

Note to editors

You are warmly invited to attend the press preview on Friday 23 June 2017.
Program:
9.15 hrs.:     commencement (report to the press desk in the lobby)
9.45 hrs.:     word of welcome, Director Beatrix Ruf
9.50 hrs.:     brief introduction by curator Leontine Coelewij
10.00 hrs.:   preview
11.00 hrs.:   end preview

To register for the press preview or request further information and visual material, please contact the Stedelijk Museum Press Office, 020 - 573 2660 / 662 or pressoffice@stedelijk.nl