Włodzimierz Borowski. The Net of Time

Włodzimierz Borowski. The Net of Time

"Włodzimierz Borowski. The Net of Time" is the first posthumous monographic exhibition of one of the most prominent Polish artists of the new avant-garde.

It consists of two complementary parts: a faithful reconstruction of the author’s exhibition Pole Gry (Game Field) arranged by him in Contemporary Gallery in Warsaw in 1972, and a presentation of archival materials documenting projects which preoccupied Borowski in the years 1966-1972 (especially the so-called “syncretic shows”).

The aim of the exhibition is to present the Pole gry as an “art-provoking instrument” designed by Włodzimierz Borowski. It is a tool which, on the one hand, protects the purity of a work of art against institutional influence, on the other, stimulates the evolution process and the discovery of new meanings of the concept of art.

Pole gry [Game Field] was one of the most highly acclaimed events on the Polish artistic scene of the 1970s, and at the same time, a vital point in Borowski’s creative activity. This unprecedented demonstration was also a critical revision of an avant-garde artist’s model of working in the Polish cultural environment. It allowed for a reflective reevaluation and proposition of conceptual art.

"Włodzimierz Borowski. The Net of Time" faithfully recreates the unique spatial structure of Pole gry of 1972, on the basis of collected documentation (photographs, accounts) and research. The reconstructed exhibition presents 44 works by Włodzimierz Borowski kept in public and private collections, supplemented with contemporary reconstructions of a few of his other works.

Pole gry is supplemented with a presentation of materials documenting nine “syncretic shows”. The documentation focuses on three problems key to Borowski’s work: the exhibition, the work of art and the author. The majority of the presented resources - unique photographs (by Eustachy Kossakowski, Tadeusz Rolke and Jacek M. Stokłosa among others), a film recording and other archives, were never before available to the public.

Parallel to the exhibition, there will be an academic conference “Włodzimierz Borowski. Works and Reconstructions” (November 19-20). It is a first attempt at summarizing the progress of research into Borowski’s work. Thanks to the participation of renowned art historians and curators, it will hopefully help propagate his art worldwide and set new research goals.