Wroclaw’s „Manhattan” in New York
The exhibition of the outstanding Polish modernist architect Jadwiga Grabowska-Hawrylak will be presented outside Poland for the first time. For three months at the Center for Architecture in New York’s famous and respected gallery, you will be able to see the author’s designs and drawings. There will be no shortage of archival and contemporary photographs, films and models of the most interesting objects - both completed and those that have forever remained only a concept.
Jadwiga Grabowska-Hawrylak’s activity was closely connected with Wrocław, where she was the first woman to receive an architect’s diploma after the war. As a young designer, she worked on the reconstruction of Wrocław’s monuments, designed the first housing estates, modern schools and innovative residential buildings. In the following years she worked on much more complex buildings: large shopping and service centres, holiday centres, housing complexes and temples. Thanks to the involvement of curators Michał Duda and Małgorzata Devosges-Cuber from the Museum of Architecture in Wrocław, the work of Jadwiga Grabowska-Hawrylak will be presented to foreign audiences for the first time.
A 5-metre-high skyscraper - a showcase of the exhibition
During the exhibition “Patchwork: The Architecture of Jadwiga Grabowska-Hawrylak”, the Center for Architecture in New York will present the most important projects and realizations developed by Jadwiga Grabowska-Hawrylak for almost half a century of her professional activity - from the 1950s to the 1990s. The exhibition will include the author’s designs and drawings, archival and contemporary photographs, films and models of the most interesting objects - both completed and those that have always remained only a concept. Visitors will also have the opportunity to see a model of one of the skyscrapers located in the residential and service complex at Grunwaldzki Square in Wrocław, built especially for the space of the New York gallery. A piece of Wrocław’s “Manhattan” will be available for three months in the heart of New York. In the gallery, which is a leading centre of culture and architecture. Center for Architecture co-creates a showroom with AIA New York (AIANY). It is the oldest Institute of Architects in America, founded in 1857.
Architectural patchwork
The title of the exhibition refers to geometric textile compositions, the creation of which was one of the greatest extra-professional passions of the architect. It also reflects the way of preparing the exhibition, based on reconstructing the designer’s output and restoring the memory of Wrocław, the buildings and their author. It is a process of laborious stitching of small pieces of historical matter found in the nooks and crannies of archives, museum collections, columns of magazines and pages of books.
The exhibition is addressed to both the general public and the specialist community. It is a story about the diversity and uniqueness of the history of Polish architecture. Jadwiga Grabowska-Hawrylak worked in the times of extremely dynamic political, social, economic and identity transformations, which influenced the constant evolution of her work. “We are happy to present Grabowska-Hawrylak’s works in New York. Her extensive activity is a window on the history and architecture of Poland during the communist era, which only recently began to reach our audience,” says Benjamin Prosky, director of AIANY and Center for Architecture in New York.
The exhibition is complemented by Michał Duda’s book “Patchwork: The Architecture of Jadwiga Grabowska-Hawrylak”. It is the first monograph of one of the most important figures of Polish post-war architecture. The book accompanying the exhibition in 2017 was awarded the prestigious DAM Architectural Book Award, granted to the best publications in the field of architecture in the world. The publication was published by the Museum of Architecture in Wrocław and is also available in Polish.
In Poland, the exhibition of Jadwiga Grabowska-Hawrylak’s oeuvre could be seen in the Museum of Architecture in Wrocław as part of the European Capital of Culture Wrocław 2016. Now it is time for the promotion of Polish architecture in the world. It has been possible thanks to commitment: The Museum of Architecture in Wrocław, Center for Architecture, Adam Mickiewicz Institute, whose mission is to promote Poland and Polish culture abroad, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, the city of Wrocław and the Department of Culture of New York in cooperation with the City Council.
**THE PROGRAMME ACCOMPANYING THE EXHIBITION: **
Presentation of the film “Blocks”.
Monday, 18 March, 18:00-20:00
Documentary on Polish housing construction by Konrad Królikowski, 2017. The film “Blocks” is the first full-length, broad and multi-faceted picture in Poland devoted to housing construction in Poland from 1956 to the present day. It includes interviews with architects - the most important creators of well-known Polish housing estates, tenants, architecture critics and historians. The film is not only about architecture, but also about the history of post-war changes in Poland.
Debate on Polish architecture
Wednesday, 17 April, 18:00-20:00
The topic of the discussion will be “Contemporary Polish architecture: From one paradigm to another”.
Patchwork: The Architecture of Jadwiga Grabowska-Hawrylak
The exhibition is open from 28.02 to 18.05.2019.
Vernissage: 28.02.2019, at 18:00
Exhibition venue:
Center For Architecture (AIANY)
(536 LaGuardia Pl, New York, NY 10012, United States)
www.centerforarchitecture.org
Curators of the exhibition: Małgorzata Devosges-Cuber and Michał Duda (Museum of Architecture in Wrocław).
Arrangement of the exhibition: Jednostka Architektury - Marta Mnich, Łukasz Wojciechowski.
Graphic design: threedotstype.com, Paulina Orłowska.
Mock-ups for the needs of the exhibition were made by Onimo - makiety architektoniczne.
Patchwork: Architecture of Jadwiga Grabowska-Hawrylak is organized in cooperation with the Museum of Architecture in Wrocław and the Center for Architecture.
The exhibition was created in cooperation with the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, whose mission is to promote Poland and Polish culture abroad, and the priority is to present high quality initiatives and events in the field of design, art, music and architecture.
The Adam Mickiewicz Institute also operates under the brand Culture.pl - a daily updated service informing about the most interesting events related to Polish culture all over the world. It is also the largest and most comprehensive source of knowledge about artists and phenomena. A special section devoted to architecture presents both the most important trends in Polish architecture and the latest trends.
The project is part of the international cultural programme POLSKA 100, coordinated by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, carried out as part of the Multiannual Programme NIEPODLEGŁA for the years 2017-2022.
Co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage within the framework of the Multiannual Programme NIEPODLEGŁA for the years 2017-2022.
Patchwork: Architecture of Jadwiga Grabowska-Hawrylak is organized in cooperation with the City of Wrocław.
The exhibition is partly financed by public funds from the Department of Culture of New York City in cooperation with the City Council.
