English
SlovenčinaExhibition of K.A.I.R.: Monika Drożyńska – Plan
Košice 2013 invites you to the exhibition Monika Drożyńska – Plan to be held on 2nd May 2012 at 18:00. Top of the exhibition is at the intersection of Orlia and Zvonárska Street (next to the horse) in Kosice. The exhibition was realised via residential program K.A.I.R. supported by the International Visegrad Fund.
Monika Drożyńska – Plan / Plán
Monika Drożyńska’s work in Košice comprises three interventions in public space, which together present a playful comment on – and an inquiry into – this city, the experience of walking through its streets and the nature of current city development in central-eastern Europe in general and in Košice in particular. The playfulness is key here – the interventions derive from an acute power of observation joined with the sharp wit and intelligent and spontaneous humour characteristic of Drożyńska’s work. The pieces arise out of a curiosity about things encountered and a wish to explore them further (and where needed, to make sense of them): a statue of a horse cast in bronze, an interesting room in an unkempt courtyard, the plaster lining the pavements underneath the buildings.
The works retain the energy and the spirit of adventure and discovery, of having fun – in this way they not only explore ways of engaging with the city, they themselves are a particular way of engaging with the city, one that is fresh, intelligent, bitingly ironic and witty, and at the same time extremely serious. Each of the pieces brings out a different aspect of this engagement – be it the dry, matter-of-fact juxtaposition of a statue of a horse with a quote suddenly remembered (Rider), or the sense of magic and childhood wonder present in peering through a dusty window into a space newly discovered (Diamond house). These two pieces are complemented by a third one, Stretch marks, which highlights the subversive and critical element of this aliveness. The piece draws on observations about the transformations Košice is currently undergoing (of its own accord as well as in connection to institutional projects such as the European Capital of Culture) and the role of institutions in this change. Taken together, the pieces highlight the subversive side of playfulness and the playful side of subversiveness. With the elegance of a joke well delivered, these works leave it to us how we piece things together.
Monika Drożyńska (1979) lives and works in Krakow. She is a visual artist, designer, performer, author of installations and projects in public space. Her work has been exhibited in solo and collective shows in Poland and internationally (including Zachęta National Art Gallery, the Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art, the Łaźnia Centre for Contemporary Art in Gdansk, the National Museum in Krakow, Bunkier Sztuki in Krakow, the MuseumsQuartier in Vienna, and others). She has been awarded scholarships from the Ministry of Culture of Poland, the British Council in London and the International Visegrad Fund.
