Launch event: 24 October 2015, 11:30am
Muzeum Ziemi Otwockiej (Museum of the Otwock Land)
Gabriela Narutowicza 2
Otwock
The Abram Gurewicz Sanatorium
Armii Krajowej 8
Otwock
www.otwockstudio.pl
Facebook event
Artists: Habima Fuchs, Taus Makhacheva
With special contributions by Jarosław Książek, Sebastian Rakowski and Sylwia Woś
The fifth season of “Otwock”, a project exploring the relationship between art and place, is dedicated to the eponymous city’s past as a former health resort and the unique character of the local nature.
The crystal-clear groundwater, the sandy soil, the dry air and the beneficial aura of the thick pine forests all made for perfect conditions that, in the late 19th century, earned Otwock the status of Poland’s first health resort for tuberculosis patients situated in the lowlands. This paved the way for the emergence of several dozen guest houses, resorts offering therapeutic baths or inhalations, as well as elegant luxury sanatoriums. The nearby forests and wild beaches on the river Swider are still widely popular destinations in the summer months.
This year we focus our activities on nature and its soothing properties. We work with Habima Fuchs, whose sculptures of plants and clay reflect the artist’s nomadic lifestyle and her deep connection to the environment; Taus Makhacheva, whose art draws inspiration from the epic Caucasian landscapes of her native Dagestan, also reflects on the local situation by creating sculptures inscribed in the landscape. Both artists celebrate the indigenous flora with works tucked away in the Otwock forest, while Jarosław Książek, a silvo- and hortitherapist who works with aromas, will take the visitors on a walk amidst its trees. For “Otwock,” he collaborated with the local landscape designer Sylwia Woś, who carried out meticulous research to re-create the design of the garden that surrounded the once-elegant Abram Gurewicz Sanatorium. The hospitality of its owners made it possible to reconstruct a fragment of the historical greenery along with the aromas that were its integral part.
The works and concepts developed by the participants of the fifth season of “Otwock” will be presented during an event accompanying this year’s edition. Its curator, Kasia Redzisz, will hold a conversation with the artists about their experience of working in Otwock. Their discussion will be followed by a presenteation on the history of the city as a health resort and its key garden projects by invited local specialists.
“Otwock” is organised by Open Art Projects and Mirosław Bałka. It is carried out in reference to the hometown of the artist and to his studio, aiming at exploring the relations between the specific place and art. Participants are asked to respond to the context found. The artists and contributors invited to the previous editions include Lara Almarcegui, Marc Camille Chaimowicz, Tacita Dean, Teresa Gleadowe, Jos de Gruyter and Harald Thys, Katharina Marszewski, Maciej Maryl, Anna Molska, Charlotte Moth, Marek Pąkciński, Piotr Paziński, Błażej Pindor, Joseph Rykwert, Renata Senktas, Mike Sperlinger/LUX, Luc Tuymans and Aleksandra Waliszewska.
The fifth season of “Otwock” is curated by Kasia Redzisz and Magda Materna
Coordination: Magda Materna
Production: Emma Knaflewska
Co-funded by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland.
With the kind support of the Polish Institute in London, the Museum of the Otwock Land, Carolina Car Company, Dr Beta—Pollena Aroma
Sponsored by PKN Orlen S.A.
Partners: The Starak Family Foundation, Spectra Art Space, EUCO S.A.
Our thanks go to: Tomasz Gruba, Artur Dawidziuk, Paulina Latham, Agnieszka Łukasik, Jan Majdacki, Leszek Mościcki / Dr Beta—Pollena Aroma, Karolina Olesińska, Michał Olesiński, Piotr Sójka, Anna and Jerzy Starak, the team of the Museum of the Otwock Land.
