Year: 2016

ROZRUCH Art Gallery, Jackowskiego Street 5-7

Open WORKSHOPS:
„"We are looking for the identity of Poznań"”
December 10, from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
You can join the workshops at any time

OPENING and DISCUSSION of the design works by Marek Cecuła:
December 10, 7 p.m.

The exhibition can be viewed from December 10 to 16, 2016, from 3 to 6 p.m.

Project co-financed by the City of Poznań.

EXHIBITION: "Together with Marek Cecuła, we are looking for the identity of Poznań"„

We cordially invite you to an exhibition of modern porcelain designed by Marek Cecuła and his design studio Modus Design, presenting porcelain objects made with Poznań and its promotion through design in mind.

The exhibition will also feature furniture and other functional objects designed by artists collaborating with the Nowymodel Foundation. These include works by Cyryl Zakrzewski, Ronen Kadushin, Karol Starczewski, and Michał Dumin. Classics of Polish design by designers from Greater Poland, brought back to life by the nowymodel.org foundation, will also be on display: a variable-height bookcase and a table designed by Professor Rajmund Teofil Hałas, and the "Kowalski Chair" designed by Bogusława and Czesław Kowalski.

Poznań City Hall announced a competition in the fall for the logo for the Free City of Poznań slogan, thus initiating a broader discussion about the image and visual identification of our city.
What can we replace the "city of know-how" and the infamous star? What could Poznań residents identify with? How should we promote our city today?

Some of the specific motifs associated with the region in the minds of Poles are Poznań potato dumplings, koziołki (goats) or St. Martin's croissants... On the other hand, Poznań is a city that can boast a long tradition of design, crafts and, in general, products of material culture.

Following this lead, thanks to the collaboration between the nowymodel.org foundation, Modus Design, and the porcelain factory in Ćmielów, we managed to persuade the charismatic and probably the most recognizable Polish designer in the world – Marek Cecuła – to design unique porcelain objects referring to the symbolism and tradition of Poznań.

What will these facilities be like? Come and see for yourself.

WORKSHOPS:
Participants will be able to tackle design tasks and issues related to the city and its problems, particularly those related to visual identification, with expert assistance from workshop leaders from the nowymodel.org Foundation. The works will be hung on strings – in a workshop format called "design washing" – and will become an interesting, substantive and spatial object. The workshop format is inspired by the plein-air workshops led by Professor Rajmund Teofil Hałas, one of the masters of Greater Poland design. The professor encouraged his students to think creatively in every possible way. One of these was this "washing," or attempting to look at design with a completely new perspective: as if it had become very dirty from the stains of routine, as if it had become stiff with dust, as if it had turned gray and faded…

The entire process will culminate in design consultations – a discussion of the work – conducted by renowned designers, including Marek Cecuła, Edyta Cieloch, Cyryl Zakrzewski, and a discussion.

MAREK CECUŁA:
A world-renowned artist, ceramist, educator, and curator. One of the most charismatic figures in Polish design, a charming erudite with Renaissance horizons. A designer of functional ceramics, he also treats it as a medium for expressing important artistic messages. In his work, the boundaries between design, craft, and sculpture are virtually nonexistent. Meeting Marek Cecuła is an intellectual feast: his extensive experience, travels, the passion with which he approaches his work and art, his curiosity about the world, and the joy of constantly learning about it make the conversation endless. Whether the artist is discussing a new project, a material he has suddenly discovered that inspires him, contemporary theater, early music, or oriental cuisine—everything becomes a fascinating adventure. He was born on April 23, 1944, in Częstochowa and lived in Kielce. He emigrated to Israel at the age of 16. Then came Brazil, and from 1976, New York. There, he founded the Modus Design studio and the Contemporary Porcelain gallery. He was Dean of the Ceramics Department at Parsons School of Design in New York (1985-2004) and a guest professor at the National Academy of the Arts in Bergen (2004-2010). In the late 1990s, he moved his Modus Design studio to Poland. In 2012, he opened the Design Centrum Kielce, and a year later, the Ćmielów Design Studio, of which he is the artistic director. Everything he knows about ceramics (and he knows a lot!) he learned "on the road," gaining experience on various continents.