MODERNA. INDUSTRY + CRAFTS

Modernism, colloquially referred to as “modern,” is a way of thinking. The balance of form and function, the honesty of materials, the combination of repeatable industrial production with crafted, refined detail. This collaboration between the designer, the craftsman, and the industry seemed to the curators of the exhibition to be the most important distinguishing feature of “modernist” thinking, which we can observe in contemporary design.

The exhibition will present implemented Polish projects and concepts realized in short series, in which, although the objects respond to the same design premise, they differ from one another due to the characteristics of the material chosen by the designer or the method of production. An essential part of the project is a realization prepared specifically for the exhibition by the young designer Alicja Patanowska, in collaboration with Krosno Glassworks “KROSNO” and the “Manufaktura” Stoneware Factory in Bolesławiec. The objects created especially for the exhibition particularly engage with the theme of “industry + crafts.” The prototypes presented at the exhibition have implementation potential, while also demonstrating a particular care for detail, developed in accordance with the best practices of collaboration with craftsmen.

The curators of the exhibition also aim to revive the interwar tradition of cooperation between Polish designers, craftsmen, and industry, which is so characteristic of Polish modernism, and especially for Stalowa Wola – a modernist city built in the 1930s according to the premises we selected for the exhibition: the balance of form and function, the honesty of materials, and the combination of repeatable industrial production with crafted, refined detail.

Designers:

Nikodem Szpunar/Paged Meble, Bartosz Mucha, Maria Jeglińska/Porcelana Kristoff, Beza Project, Aleksandra Satława, Agnieszka Bar/Manufacturedculture, Iza Sroka/Falbanka, Marek Cecuła/Ćmielów Design Studio, Paulina Matusiak, Malafor, Karina Marusińska, Tomasz Augustyniak/Marbet Style, Marcin Młoczkowski/VOLA, Alicja Patanowska.

Curators:

Agnieszka Jacobson-Cielecka, independent exhibition curator, design critic, journalist. Head of the program council of the School of Form in Poznań www.agnieszka-jacobson.pl; Paweł Grobelny, designer and independent exhibition curator. Lecturer at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw and the School of Form in Poznań www.pawelgrobelny.com

Organizers: Regional Museum in Stalowa Wola with the support of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. Partners: Helsinki Design Week, Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Helsinki, Krosno Glassworks “KROSNO”, “Manufaktura” Stoneware Factory in Bolesławiec

www.helsinkidesignweek.com www.habitare.fi

The catalog and photographs are available for download under the photo.

Co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage