PAWEŁ ALTHAMER I GRUPA NOWOLIPIE – KALISZ OPERA Exhibition and performative project

PAWEŁ ALTHAMER I GRUPA NOWOLIPIE – KALISZ OPERA
Exhibition and performative project

Sep 8-Oct 12, 2023

The beginnings of the Nowolipie Group date back to 1994, when the Polish Multiple Sclerosis Society organized manual classes at the National Artistic Center in Warsaw, during which patients could exercise their hands thanks to modeling clay, finding a mental escape from everyday problems. The lecturer was a young graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw – Paweł Althamer. Some time passed and it turned out that what is being created are no longer cups or angels. Althamer became a well-known sculptor, meetings became an opportunity to talk about art (as well as about the art of living), and modeling turned into creation. Like the Group created a community, their works also began to be a joint work. Paweł Althamer deliberately put into practice his theory that “everyone is a creator, only some need help to discover it.” In 2005, the Nowolipie Group formally came into existence, joined by many young (and not so young) artists, volunteers or simply friends, for a shorter or longer period. The painter Joanna Świerczyńska, who co-hosted the classes with Althamer, also joined, and the group’s range of activities expanded at that time. Currently, it is also painting, drawing and performance. The formula remains unchanged – each work is the result of joint action. More and more often, the Nowolipie Group began to expand its activities to the outside of the building of the National Art Center.

Paweł Althamer

Born in 1967, he lives and works in Warsaw; sculptor, author of artistic activities, installations and videos. In his work, starting from the experience of a specific physical “I,“ he blurs the boundary between what is individual and social, between private and public space, between representation and reality, making realistic sculptures from perishable materials, modest interventions into reality, and extensive projects involving collaboration and participation of other entities or groups, e.g. the homeless, children, residents of a block of flats in a Warsaw housing estate, or staff working in galleries. Since 1994, he has been running weekly ceramic workshops for people suffering from multiple sclerosis at the National Artistic Center “Nowolipki“ in Warsaw; their joint works are exhibited as Paweł Althamer & Grupa Nowolipie. His works have been shown, among others during individual exhibitions in The Neighbors New Museum, New York (2014), Almech Deutsche Guggenheim, Berlin (2011), or One of Many, Fondazione Nicola Trussardi, Milan (2007), as well as collective exhibitions in As you can see. Polish Art Today, Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw (2014), Performa 13 New York (2013), The Encyclopedic Palace. 55th Venice Biennale, Venice (2013), Lovis-Corinth-Preis 2022, Kunstforum Ostdeutche Galerie, Regensburg (2022).