A work of art is a window onto this world, which we are unable to see by ourselves – with these words Maria Anna Potocka inaugurated the cooperation between the Museum and OKNOPLAST. What can we see today from the windows that won the second edition of the OKNOPLAST FOR ART competition?
A mechanical arm persistently crosses out the word ‘WAR’ on the glass. A second arm removes this cross-out with a sponge. This is how Michał Rejner, first prize winner of the OKNOPLAST FOR ART competition, comments on the contemporary reality from which we are unable to remove the omnipresent threat of war. In turn, a sympathetic grandmother, leaning against a cushion, looks out at us from the neighbouring window. This is the work ‘Halina parapet’ by the duo Ewa Bone and Ewa Kozubal, who took second place. These are just two, out of five works presented at the post-competition exhibition.
We received a lot of competition entries and exceptional designs that caught our attention at OKNOPLAST and surprised the jury. Our flagship product, the window, continues to amaze us with its variety of creative interpretations,’ says Magdalena Cedro-Czubaj, OKNOPLAST Marketing Manager.
This year’s OKNOPLAST FOR ART is the second edition of the international competition organised by MOCAK and the OKNOPLAST Group. The competition task, as in the previous edition, was to create a design for a work in any technique that would fit in with the structure of the window. Artists from Poland and abroad submitted almost 300 designs. The jury, chaired by Professor Andrzej Bednarczyk and composed of Edyta Kurpiel-Placek, Małgorzata Potocka, Maria Anna Potocka and Andrzej Starmach, selected three winners and awarded two distinctions.
First prize and the prize of EUR 7,000 went to Michał Rejner, painter and creator of installations. The second prize went to the artistic duo consisting of Ewa Bone and Ewa Kozubal, while the third prize was awarded to Marta Ciolkowska. Distinctions were awarded to Vitalii Shupliak and Monika Maurycy. All of the winning works dealt with current social issues.
The exhibition features five realisations with designs. The works belong to the OKNOPLAST Group collection.
Biographies of the artists
Michał Rejner (1995) – the starting points for his artistic reflection are often social issues. In his works, he touches upon the problems of exclusion, racial intolerance, loss of dignity by the human individual, economic inequality, homelessness or loneliness. With the aim of enhancing the overtone of the works – the artist uses diverse media and techniques. He makes equal use of the value of the plane and the suggestiveness of artistic installation. In spatial works, he draws on objects drawn from other people’s lives and, using a creative process inspired by a specific place and problem, transforms them into conceptual sculptures. In her installations, she explores themes close to every human being, putting them in close contact with the work – through the touch and energy of her works, she invites the viewer to explore their ideas as well as their experiences with the material. She treats openness to experimental workshop practices and a willingness to “grab inspiration hot” as essential components of her creative practice.
Ewa Bone (1977) – graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznań (2003), diploma with honours in the atelier of Prof. Wojciech Kujawski. In 2003-2004 she was an assistant in Mirosław Bałka’s sculpture studio.
Ewa Kozubal ( 1978) – graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznań (2004), diploma with honours in the atelier of Prof. Jan Berdyszak, honourable mention for the best diploma in the Maria Dokowicz competition.
The artists have formed an artistic duo since 2000. They express themselves through sculpture, installation and happenings. Co-authors of four Audiovisual Arts Festivals in Tuczno, directors of numerous creative workshops and cultural events in the urban zone. For several years, they worked with the KontenerArt in Poznań and alternative theatres in the realisation of scenography and happenings. They are the authors of the Spokesman figure on the Boulevard in Gorzów Wielkopolski, commonly known as Janusz Gorzowski, and of the monument to Krzysztof Jarzyna of Szczecin, the Boss of All Boss es, standing in the Łasztownia area in Szczecin.
Marta Ciołkowska (1993) – visual artist, creator of video, installations, sculpture and graphics, exploring the subject of human impact on the environment and the influence of developing technology on contemporary man. Graduated in Interior Design from the Strzemiński Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź (2017), she also studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Catania. In recent years she has participated in various national and international exhibitions and festivals. Her works have been shown in, among others: MACRO Museum of Contemporary Art in Rome, the Institute of Art and Culture in Barcelona. She has been a resident of PLAN8T Artist/Architect In Residence (P8AIR) (Changsha, China), Cittadellarte Fondazione Pistoletto – UNIDEE Residency Programs (Biella, Italy), KARP Residency (Kamina – Lomé, Togo), Tiliade Association (Oasis Des Âges, France) and GugArt2024 Guido Gobino (Turin, Italy). Her work has appeared in numerous catalogues and publications, in group and solo exhibitions.
Monika Maurycy (1994) – graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow, majoring in scenography. She works with artistic textiles, photography and graphic design. Her areas of interest include the position of women in the contemporary world, the human condition and the relationship between man and nature. She runs a small author clothing brand, where she sews clothes and accessories from second-hand materials. She has collaborated with, among others, the Labirynt Gallery in Lublin, the KTO Theatre in Krakow and the New Theatre in Łódź.
Vitalii Shupliak / Віталій Шупляк (1993) – lives in Berlin and works mainly with video installation, painting and performance. He studied fine arts in Lviv, Gdansk, Poznan and Brunswick. In his works he explores the potential of free expression in the creation of new values, using methods of interpenetrating reality and virtuality, focusing on migration, identity and border issues.
source: organiser materials
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