Tabish Khan, the @LondonArtCritic, picks his Top 5 museums and art exhibitions to see in Warsaw to make a change from his usual London-based top 5. Check out the previous top 5 if you’re after London exhibitions to visit.
The Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw (MSN)
This is a must-see on any visit to Warsaw, a contemporary art museum that opened this year and is the equivalent of the Tate Modern or MoMA for Warsaw. It’s filled with a fantastic international roster of artists and some of Poland’s greats, including a large-scale, arresting work by Magdalena Abakanowicz. The architecture is superb as you start in the middle and discover it’s much larger as you explore. I love the wood-walled rooms between galleries where you can relax and view the city through large windows. Ticketed entry.
Andrea Fraser. Art Must Hang at Zacheta
This incisive take on the art world takes a critical swipe at the patriarchal and often too serious art world. Andrea Fraser overreacts to the audioguide of the Sistine Chapel in response to the emotions the works are meant to evoke, gives speeches at an exhibition in the role of artist, gallerist and trustee, and plays both the artist and psychiatrist in a mock two-way dialogue. In one of her wall-based works, she looks at the funding of museums and how they are split between the political leanings of donors. It was my first experience of the artist’s work and it packs a significant punch. Until 8th June, ticketed.
If you like your work more historical, this museum has a fantastic collection of medieval and Renaissance art, including several spectacular gilded altarpieces and an excellent Botticelli. I also loved the over-the-top painting by Jan Matejko of the ‘Battle of Grunwald’ that depicts the Polish-Lithuanian forces defeating the Teutonic Knights (pictured). Regarding battle paintings, this one has to be seen in person to appreciate its immense scale. Ticketed entry.
Maria Kozak: There is one day – at times it gets dark at Leto Gallery
These are great, expressive paintings that gave me Edvard Munch vibes. Dreamy figures and swirling landscapes appear to phase in and out in these paintings, reflecting on memories, time, and personal emotions. They show how we grow over time, including how the artist’s tastes have evolved, including flowers she hated as a child. The largest work in the show is a diptych, where each piece uses contrasting colour palettes to link two very different worlds. Until 5th July, free.
Pakui Hardware. Progi / Thresholds at Zacheta
We’re back at Zacheta for a smaller exhibition of giant membranes pushed from behind by robotic arms. They come towards us as we stand facing them, as if the ‘skin’ may touch us—it’s hypnotic and unsettling. The artists are a Lithuanian duo that draws inspiration from medical imaging, biology, and the materiality of the body—are they breathing entities under the skin’s surface or a new lifeform ready to be birthed? Until 6th July, ticketed.
First image courtesy MSN Warsaw. Andrea Fraser photo by Adam Gut, courtesy of Zacheta. Maria Kozak image courtesy Leto gallery. Pakui Hardware photo: Ugnius Gelguda/ Zach?ta archive, Courtesy of the Artists and Carlier | Gebauer (Berlin/Madrid).
