Catalog: ART NEXT TO FASHION

Catalog accompanying the exhibition and conference ART NEXT TO FASHION, CCA Torun.

Texts: Monika Górska, Ewa Gutmańska-Gralak, Mariusz Kostrzewski, Mateusz Kozieradzki, Dominika Łukoszek, Szymon Owsiański, Monika Rak, Michał Wójciak

The exhibition is a kind of experiment and was created in response to the lack of similar exhibition initiatives in Poland. The few exceptions, presenting contemporary fashion precisely in an artistic context, and not only in a historical-social context, are, for example, the "Miracles of the Blind", realized in 2013 with vigor precisely at the CCA in Toruń.

"ART next to FASHION" is an attempt to sketch the relationship between fashion and art on the example of selected projects by contemporary Polish artists, who often themselves avoid the label of artist. Their interdisciplinary activities, escaping clear definitions, nevertheless create a very interesting research area from an artistic perspective.

Graphic works will be the most represented at the exhibition. Illustrations with very clear fashion inspirations will be juxtaposed with sketches by Serbian designer Zvonko Markovic, whose designs won considerable recognition during this year's Fashion Week in New York. The featured illustrators - Anna Halarewicz, Hubert Kołodziejski, Elżbieta Gądek, Katarzyna Smoczyńska and Paweł Zawiślak - are among the absolute top Polish artists, also recognized abroad. The illustration part is complemented by two works by Lukasz Bilinski from the borderline of drawing and painting.

In addition to illustrations, photographs are also presented, including two works by the duo FROL - ZALESKY, recognized as the best project in 2011 by VOGUE Italy. The author of the costumes presented in the photos is Varvara Frol. The exhibition will also feature three films by the authors.

A series of six photographs by Pawel Zhukowski, entitled "Tribute to Fashion Poland," is a kind of compendium of works by Polish designers selected by the artist.

A separate group is made up of photographs by Katarzyna Widmańska and Maciej Boryna, created during photo shoots with models wearing costumes by Katarzyna Konieczka. The photographs will be juxtaposed with works by Konieczka - one of the most important Polish costume designers, whose designs are valued around the world. The artist has created stage creations for such controversial figures as Lady Gaga, among others.

Konieczka's costumes will be juxtaposed with designs by Toruń-based artist Karol Miętkiewicz, who draws his inspiration from artists such as T. Mugler and Alexander McQueen. Miętkiewicz's costumes are also the subject of a photo shoot by Dawid Paweł Lewandowski, made in the space of Toruń's CCA especially for the exhibition.

Among the presented creations could not miss the work of Magdalena Moskwa, who creates objects of a non-utilitarian nature at a very high artistic level. Costumes resembling overalls are used to collect body prints.

Szymon Kurpiewski's digital collages, drawing extensively on the achievements of art history and pop culture, will be juxtaposed with a jacket by Anna Maria Adamczuk, who transferred these works to the material of the created clothes.

A separate part of the exhibition will be works that, through their form or purpose, touch on such themes as ecology, feminism, suffering. Feminist discourse is particularly evident in the works of Iwona Demko - her jewelry, created from forms stylized as vaginas, is, as the artist herself points out, intended for courageous women. Interest in science, especially zoology, is evident in the highly original jewelry by Bartosz Maria Chmielewski, created using elements of natural insects. The opposite context of environmental protection can be found in the materials used in the clothes of Michal Lojewski's UEG brand, as they are made of paper - a completely biodegradable material.