“If you haven’t come here yet, then please do so as soon as you can. If you have, then please come again.”
The Polish Olympic Committee can be justifiably proud of its impressive modern art gallery. Galeria (-1) opened in 2006. This exceptional venue holds painting, graphics, sculpture and photography exhibitions, many of which are related to the world of sport. People associated with the worlds of sport and art come to Galeria (-1) vernissages. And there are quite a few Olympians among them. Galeria (-1) is a place where these two worlds, which have always inspired each other and lived in symbiosis, come together.
Conservators
KAMA ZBORALSKA
is a member of the POC Olympic Culture and Education Commission, and was one of the initiators behind Galeria (-1), she curates most of the exhibitions. Kama is a journalist who promotes sport and is the author of The Art of Investing in Art [Sztuka inwestowanie w sztukę], the album 101 Contemporary Polish Artists: Outstanding, Recognized, and Starting Out [101 polskich artystów współczesnych. Wybitnych, uznanych, debiutujących], and the POC albumGaleria (-1): Modern Art Exhibitions 2006-2016 [Galeria (-1) Wystawy sztuki współczesnej 2006-2016].
MAGDALENA REJF
is the secretary of the POC Olympic Culture and Education Commission. She organizes exhibitions on behalf of the POC and records all exhibitions in the POC commemorative book. Magdalena was the direct coordinator of the POC album Galeria (-1) Modern Art Exhibitions 2006-2016, published to commemorate the ghallery’s tenth anniversary.
LESZEK FIDUSIEWICZ
a former decathlete, Leszek is one of Poland’s leading sports photographers. He has won numerous prestigious competitions, was a gold medalist at the Olympic Art Contest in Moscow (1980), and was awarded the Olympic Laurel for lifetime achievement. Leszek is a member of the Olympic Culture and Education Commission. He is responsible for documenting Galeria (-1) exhibitions.
Magdalena Rejf – Manager, Curator, Secretary of the POC Olympic Culture and Education Commission:
The gallery is part of the Olympic Center – an architectural creation of Bogdan Kulczyński. Igor Mitoraj’s brilliantly sculpted Ikaro Alato invites us inside.
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– The building is quite spacious. There are six floors, each with its own designation and sporting spirit. Sport is art. The athlete is its work – and beauty is inextricably linked with it.
To visit the gallery, you take the elevator to floor -1. The semi-elliptical floor space is just right. There are several cylindrical pillars. A semicircular stairway leads there from the lobby. The grayness of the walls does not impose, dictate or even suggest anything. The shimmering overhead lighting, reflected from an external stream of water, stimulates the imagination and lures you to the imaginative exhibits.
So say the artists, the best of the best. Just like us, they have fallen in love with this place and have been with us for more than ten years. It is thanks to them that Galeria (-1) has seamlessly blended into the artistic life of the capital. Eminent artists exhibit here and some very special people come here. Together, we can appreciate the combination of imagination, talent, technical prowess, precision, perseverance and strength, which, as in communicating vessels, constitutes a unity and something that has been loved and admired for centuries – sport/art/sport/art …
Kama Zboralska – Curator
Galeria (-1) is a recognized modern art venue that is not only highly regarded by budding admirers of beauty, but also by the cognoscenti. It is common knowledge that it is not all that easy to attract renowned artists to a gallery that does not have an established reputation.
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– The late Mirosława Arens, owner of one of Warsaw’s oldest galleries, “Zapiecek”, came to our aid. It is thanks to her that works by such luminaries as Stefan Fijałkowski, Jerzy Tchórzewski, Stefan Gierowski made their appearance in our space. Once the bar had been set that high, there was a certain level below which we could not go.
The “Wilkoniada” exhibition opened the Józef Wilkoń jubilee year celebrations here in 2015. Wilkoń was 85 at the time. The vernissage was packed. And no wonder. This versatile artist is universally and deservedly loved and esteemed. Andrzej “Dudi” Dudziński, who is highly regarded both within and without Poland, launched the celebrations of his 50 years of creative activity here too. A film documenting his career was screened in the POC cinema hall at the vernissage. We also had an opportunity to watch the film In Absolute Silence [ W absolutnej ciszy], which graced a vernissage of the exceptional painter, Konrad Jarodzki. The film has won prizes at several film festivals.
Galeria (-1) has hosted many renowned artists, including Stanisław Baj, Wiesław Szamborski, Wojciech Sadley, Bronisław Krzysztof, and Wiktor Gajda. It would be hard to mention them all. Importantly, the younger generation is also promoted at the gallery. Michał Chudzicki, Paweł Dunal, and Mateusz Szczypiński are among those who have exhibited here. For several years now, we have also held an exhibition to accompany the Young Art Compass rankings. These have been published in Rzeczpospolita for over 10 years. Every exhibition is an extraordinary display of leading young artists. We work with the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, as well as other galleries in the capital. Collective and individual exhibitions by AFA teachers are held at Galeria (-1).
Galeria (-1) obviously holds exhibitions dedicated to Olympians. These include a photographic exhibition of seven-time Olympic medalist Irena Szewińska (2008), and Beauty and Strenght [Piękno i Siła] (2009), which comprised artistic creations by Polish Olympic athletes in 1924-2008. And the multimedia exhibition to mark the 15th anniversary of Kamila Skolimowska’s Olympic gold medal in 2000 was not only popular among sports fans. Galeria (-1) has been invited to take part in major cultural events, e.g. the 2011 Warsaw Festival of Art, and the extraordinarily popular cultural event, Night of the Museums.
