Unpolished 8 - Cologne, Hannover, Dusseldorf

Following the success that the UNPOLISHED – YOUNG DESIGN FROM POLAND exhibition enjoyed at the Salone del Mobile furniture fair in Milan (April 2011) and Designer’s Days in Paris (June 2011), its next, expanded edition will be presented to German audiences in Cologne, Hannover and Düsseldorfi e. The exhibition, which has so far been shown mainly at design festivals, will visit prestigious museum institutions for the first time, including the Museum of Applied Arts in Cologne. The organizers of the exhibition are the Regional Museum in Stalowa Wola and AGIT Polska Polnisch-Deutsche Initiative für Kulturkooperation e.V., and its curators are recognized experts and authorities in the field of Polish and global design: Agnieszka Jacobson-Cielecka and Paweł Grobelny.

The exhibition UNPOLISHED – YOUNG DESIGN FROM POLAND is a project whose main idea is to present the most interesting projects of Polish designers of the young generation to the widest possible audience in various European countries. To promote Polish design. To prove that Polish design, which draws on the rich Polish experience and traditions, is a unique and exceptional phenomenon, and thus attractive and worth popularizing.

UNPOLISHED 8 – YOUNG DESIGN FROM POLAND is the 8th edition of the exhibition of works by Polish designers, which was first presented to the public in 2009 in Brussels. For the past 2 years, the exhibition has been successfully presented in major design centers, presenting the realizations of young Polish designers. The invitation of the UNPOLISHED 8 – YOUNG DESIGN FROM POLAND exhibition to Cologne, Hannover and Düsseldorf is the best proof that Polish design is gaining more and more interest in the world, and that Polish creators count on international markets. We first presented the works of young Polish designers in September 2009 at the DESIGN SEPTEMBER festival in Brussels. Polish artistic achievements aroused the interest of professionals – design experts and the public. It turned out that Polish design is attractive to the European audience, and our designers have interesting, surprising and unique ideas,” explains Agnieszka Jacobson-Cielecka, curator of the exhibition. – Thus, the UNPOLISHED exhibition has become a cyclical project – after all, every year new artists appear, there are more and more interesting artistic projects worth showing in Europe. Each edition shows the best and most representative works of Polish designers.

Most of the designers and design groups presenting their works at the exhibition belong to the generation of 30-year-olds. This is, according to the curators, the most interesting group of Polish artists. Brilliantly educated, they not only design, but also produce and promote their own work. Many of them have already gained recognition in the world and successfully compete with designers from other countries, while others are just at the beginning of the road.  When selecting works and designers, we looked for the most characteristic elements of Polish design, features that distinguish us from other designers. When preparing such exhibitions, we are always faced with the question of what do we actually want to prove? Is it that Poles design like everyone else? Or that they design differently from everyone else? – points out Agnieszka Jacobson-Cielecka. – Certainly the process of creation and selection of materials is special. Designers reach for materials that are accessible, inexpensive and natural: wood, osb and mdf boards, fi lc, or recycled materials. They also most often make their objects themselves or with the help of local craftsmen. Most of the presented works are prototypes, uniques or limited series.

Some artists are inspired by Polish tradition, material culture or craftsmanship. Many works are characterized by humor, irony, balancing on the border between design and art, a perverse sense of humor or distance from classical definitions of

definitions of design. Such are the works of Agnieszka Bar or Concrete. Yet another theme is the fascination with material, texture and manufacturing technology, particularly noticeable in the works of Monika Patuszyńska, Magdalena Trzcionka or

Karina Marusinska.

The exhibition UNPOLISHED 8 – YOUNG DESIGN FROM POLAND presents the most characteristic achievements of Polish contemporary design by 15 designers and design groups: Aze Design (Anna Kotowicz-Puszkarewicz + Artur Puszkarewicz), Agnieszka Bar, Beton (Marta Rowińska + Lech Rowiński), Joanna Bylicka, Agnieszka Czop and Joanna Rusin, DBWT, Gogo (Maria Makowska + Piotr Stolarski), Kosmos Project (Ewa Bochen + Maciej Jelski), Bogdan Kosak, Malafor (Agata Kulik-Pomorska + Paweł Pomorski), Karina Marusińska, Bartosz Mucha, Monika Patuszyńska, Magdalena Trzcionka.

The exhibition UNPOLISHED 8 – JUNGES DESIGN AUS POLEN / Köln + Hannover + Düsseldorf was organized through the efforts of the Regional Museum in Stalowa Wola (www.muzeum.stalowawola.pl) and AGIT Polska Polnisch-Deutsche Initiative fur Kulturkooperation e.V. (www.agit-polska.de), with the support of the Polish Institute in Düsseldorfi e, the Stiftung für deutsch-polnische Zusammenarbeit foundation and the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.