On the occasion of the 90th birthday of Michał Jędrzejewski (born 1934), the Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Art and Design and the Museum of Architecture are preparing a retrospective exhibition of the multifaceted work of the Professor, Rector of the Academy from 1984 to 1990. The Wrocław artist has been active in the field of broadly understood visual, design, and performative arts for nearly 70 years, eagerly navigating their intersections and common areas.
Theater set design, television set design, costume design, exhibition design, interior architecture, furniture and equipment design; painting, drawing, and the fringes of printmaking; poster, publication graphics, visual identity, and flyers; animation, installation art, and mail art; ceramics, happening, and performance. Jędrzejewski co-created sensibilism – a provocative, open artistic formula characterized by a multiplicity of attitudes and explorations. Contrary to what the ironic title might suggest, the exhibition by no means showcases detrimental effects, but rather the fascinating creations of a searching artist with a truly Renaissance personality endowed with a wealth of interests and multiple talents.
The exhibition showcases original works by Michał Jędrzejewski – including paintings, drawings, monotypes, ceramics, set and exhibition designs, as well as posters, photographs, models, and prints documenting his impressive output from nearly seven decades. This is a vast and diverse presentation, above which hover gigantic silver spheres – the Professor’s favorite shapes, and the spirit of sensibilism – one of the more original trends in Polish postwar art. Visitors can try to grasp it on their own or with the Exhibition Guide, a publication accompanying the exhibition that includes a transcript of an extensive interview with the Professor conducted in April this year.
Curators: Marta Płonka, Anita Wincencjusz-Patyna
About the artist
A graduate of painting (1958) from Professor Eugeniusz Geppert’s studio and of interior architecture (1960) under Professor Władysław Wincze, Jędrzejewski has tied his teaching and academic career to the Faculty of Interior Architecture, Design, and Stage Design (its current name). For years, he was a tireless chronicler of the Academy’s history, never forgetting its Prussian beginnings. He was associated with the Wrocław Television Center from its inception for more than a dozen years, including as the chief set designer. He designed sets and sometimes costumes for the Opera, Polski Theater, Współczesny Theater, Kalambur Theater, and the Wrocław branch of the National Academy of Theater Arts in Kraków. He led teams responsible for the staging of exhibitions and cultural festivals in Wrocław and Lower Silesia. The culmination of these activities was the millennium exhibition “Wrocław 2000 – My City” held in the halls of the Feature Film Studio.
- Organiser: The Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Art and Design in Wrocław
- Co-organiser: Museum of Architecture in Wrocław
- Honorary patronage of the Mayor of Wrocław.
- Media patrons: Radio Wrocław, Radio Wrocław Kultura, Magazyn FORMAT
Exhibition co-financed by the Department of Culture of the City Hall of Wrocław and the Postgraduate Study of Visual Disciplines in Architecture and the Faculty of Interior Design, Design and Scenography of the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław.