Exhibition: "Jerzy Fedorowicz and Ludmiła Popiel: Beyond the Painting" — Koszalin Museum

Ludmiła Popiel and Jerzy Fedorowicz are among the most important figures in the history of Koszalin’s postwar artistic life. As co-founders of the local art community, they played a key role in shaping the city’s cultural identity by carrying out numerous artistic, exhibition, and design projects that have become a permanent part of our city’s landscape. The significance of their work, however, extends far beyond the regional level. It was Ludmiła Popiel and Jerzy Fedorowicz, together with Marian Bogusz, who initiated and organized the legendary Osieck open-air art workshops. Thanks to their commitment, one of the most important platforms for the exchange of artistic ideas in Poland during the 1960s and 1970s was established. By creating an ambitious program and inviting leading representatives of the postwar avant-garde and neo-avant-garde, they contributed to the birth of the phenomenon of open-air art events and artistic symposia, which permanently transformed the landscape of Polish contemporary culture. At the same time, they were actively involved in the development of Koszalin itself. They established the local branch of the Association of Polish Visual Artists, designed exhibitions for the Koszalin Museum, created interior designs for public institutions, and developed graphic identities for cultural events. The upcoming exhibition will be the first such extensive and comprehensive presentation of the body of work by Ludmiła Popiel and Jerzy Fedorowicz. The exhibition will feature works from the collections of the Koszalin Museum, national and regional museums, and private collections. Archival materials documenting their artistic, design, and organizational activities will also be a key element of the exhibition. Although the exhibition will be retrospective in nature, its purpose is not merely to provide a historical overview of the artists’ work. Popiel and Fedorowicz’s work addressed issues that remain surprisingly relevant even today. The exhibition will not only serve as a tribute to the pioneers of the Koszalin art scene but also as an attempt to reinterpret their body of work in the context of contemporary research on 20th-century art. Curatorial team: Alicja Nowak-Zientarska, Agnieszka Popiel, Tomasz Popiel, Łukasz Rozmarynowski. Opening: September 4 (Friday), 5:00 p.m. The exhibition is co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.