In Jelcz-Laskowice, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Elica Group Polska, Inhalatorium was unveiled, a monumental site-specific installation by Cezary Poniatowski, winner of the 23rd Premio Ermanno Casoli. Curated by Jakub Gawkowski and Marcello Smarrelli, the project combines raw industrial aesthetics with an interactive social space, inviting workers and viewers to reflect on the role of art in factory interiors.
The installation consists of several large metal sculptural pieces placed on a terrace overlooking the production lines. Poniatowski designed each piece in direct collaboration with the factory’s workers, which gives Inhalatorium the dimension of both an artistic intervention and a shared daily meeting zone. Seemingly cool, industrial materials – steel and machine components – are juxtaposed with organic forms and green accents to create a unique atmosphere.
Surreal space on the factory terrace
The focal point of the composition is a majestic, enigmatic sculpture – an anthropomorphic filter symbolising air, central to Elica technology. Here, raw steel intertwines with the softness of organic shapes, building a tension between artificiality and nature. The installation redefines the factory space, escaping the logic of production and becoming a place where machine rhythm meets the world of art.
Inhalatorium is a new site-specific installation by Cezary Poniatowski, created as part of the Premio Ermanno Casoli at the Elica factory in Jelcz-Laskowice. Placed on a central terrace overlooking the factory hall, the work transforms this industrial space into an unexpected environment – at once a surreal landscape, a utilitarian social space and a sanctuary of breath. Poniatowski’s sculptural language explores the relationship between materiality, subjectivity and the human environment – showing how inanimate forms shape perception, experience and spatial dynamics. The artist transforms common and industrial materials into complex sculptural forms that bear traces of function but resist clear interpretation. In Inhalatorium, Poniatowski continues his long-standing interest in site-specific installations that respond directly to the context and scale of the site – projects that combine the physical characteristics of the space with its distinctive aesthetic: raw, based on industrial materials and marked by ambiguity, distortion and the grotesque, write curators Jakub Gawkowski and Marcello Smarrelli.
Breathing metaphor and the dialogue between art and business
The title Inhalatorium refers to the historical inhalation centres of Lower Silesia – former spas where treatment of respiratory diseases was based on saline inhalations. The concept of breath is understood here as a physiological act, a way of caring for and circulating ideas between people, technology and space.
We are proud that the Premio Ermanno Casoli takes material form at Elica Group Polska precisely in the year of its 20th anniversary. The involvement of our employees in the creative process of an artist is always extremely inspiring and confirms the importance of opening our workplaces to dialogue and imagination through the universal language of contemporary art. Especially now, when passion and creative vision are so important for a future-oriented company like Elica,” comments Francesco Casoli, CEO of Elica.
The Inhalatorium project was developed through close collaboration between the artist and the plant’s engineers, technicians and other staff.
Creating this work at the Elica Group Polska factory was a unique and inspiring experience. Direct access to the knowledge and skills of the engineers and company employees allowed me to expand the boundaries of my own practice. For a few weeks the production space became a temporary atelier, and the creation process itself was as important as the final form of the installation,” recalls Cezary Poniatowski.
A historical precedent and further plans
Inhalatorium is part of the Polish tradition of experimental collaborations between artists and industry from the 1960s and 1970s, which treated the factory as a space for imagination and civic engagement. The project will also be presented in Italy – on 29 September 2025 at a meeting at the Polish Institute in Rome, where Italian audiences will have the opportunity to explore the idea in a broader context.
The initiative is being carried out under the patronage of the Italian Cultural Institute in Krakow and the Polish Institute in Rome.
photos: Alicja Kielan. Courtesy of Fondazione Ermanno Casoli
Read also: Culture | Art | Interesting facts | Featured | whiteMAD on Instagram
