Exhibition concept:
"Architecture requires knowledge. Broad, humanistic knowledge – necessary for the concept creation, as well as exacting, technical knowledge – necessary for the construction process. It also requires openness, a certain mindfulness, and intuition – to be able to perceive and understand the changes taking place in the world. Collage opens the path of knowledge to the promptings of intuition. That is why I like to use it as a working technique, which this exhibition suggests: here photographs, testimonies and documents merge with fleeting and open forms (still not obvious to architectural criticism, but known, for instance, from social media) – to emphasize the complexity and multidimensionality of critical engagement. # Archicollages. What is the exhibition about? It is about values. It is about architecture being first and foremost a place to live, rather than a clever and fashionable fetish – which it may at times become, and which some circles believe it to be." Ewa P. Porębska
1982 marks martial law in Poland, whereas 2022 is the period of global pandemic and the war in Ukraine. And in between: systemic transformation, accession to the European Union, enormous changes – in Poland and the world. Archicollages are personal reflections on breakthroughs in architecture, people of architecture, architectural ideas and re-evaluations.
The exhibition presents a selection of trends and topics, which Ewa P. Porębska focuses on in her professional activity: architectural competitions, exhibitions, publications, and debates, treated as important elements in the public discourse on architecture. Also present are the theme of the utopian ideal city as a distinctive example of architectural creativity, and the presentation of the designers’ professional attitudes in the context of redefining and re-evaluating architecture over time.
The presentation is accompanied by documents from the years 1982-2022: letters, sketches, archival photos, scale models, as well as excerpts from films and TV programs
Bio:
Ewa P. Porębska – architect, architecture critic, curator, expert. In her work, she aims to promote the best models in world architecture.
In 1982, Ewa P. Porębska started working for “Architektura”, a monthly journal published by the Association of Polish Architects, and since then she has been continuously dealing with architectural themes: writing, curating exhibitions, initiating and organizing events, making films, and acting internationally as an expert, consultant and juror in competitions, including the most prestigious and non-commercial ones, such as the official EU Mies van der Rohe Award, or the Public Space Award. Since 1994, she has been the editor-in-chief of a leading Polish architectural magazine “Architektura-murator”.
Commentaries on the “Archicollages” exhibition:
"When constructing the exhibition on the occasion of her jubilee, Ewa P. Porębska took a backseat. Based on her exceptional experience, she merely made suggestions: some thoughts and threads for the visitors to consider and think about. How to see architecture, what to value in it, how to talk about it. She always emphasizes the value of debates, exhibitions, competitions, and polls; and as the editor-in-chief of a key architectural journal – also the value of reading, critique, skilful descriptions of buildings as well as the constantly changing urban space (the exhibition reveals how the vision of an ideal city has changed over the centuries: it is human history in a nutshell!). It would be a cliché to say that we all experience architecture, and therefore we have the right to have an opinion about it. The “Archicollages” exhibition suggests how we might form that opinion in a deliberate and informed way." Anna Cymer, architectural historian
"The exhibition is uniquely interesting in the context of Ewa P. Porębska’s reflections on changes in the discourse about architecture, which is taking place in various publications, magazines, and trade journals. While viewing the “Archicollages”, I remembered another jubilee on the occasion of the fortieth anniversary of work. In 2016, an exhibition and the accompanying book came out, titled “Steiner’s Diary. On Architecture since 1959”. It is a review of four decades’ worth of observations on contemporary architecture by Dietmar Steiner, one of the most prominent Austrian architectural critics. Throughout his career, Steiner has advocated for humanitarian and resource-saving architecture, and has criticized celebrity “starchitecture” and large global design offices. (..)Joseph Rykwert spoke in a similar tone in the first printed issue of “Architecture Snob”: “One British literary critic once said that every writer wishes for only one review, praising him for having written the best book of all time. Architects want the same thing. This gets boring when repeated too often, therefore, one must discriminate. That is what critics do, and it may often get rather uncomfortable”, Rykwert said. Ewa Porębska’s exhibition is a critical reflection on contemporary architecture; and it is public reaction to that architecture. (...) The voice of Ewa P. Porębska, from the beginning of her career, was one of the few such sensible and accurate voices in Polish architecture. And so it remains to this day, and let us hope it continues that way for the next 40 years." Marcin Szczelina, architectural critic and curator
Authors and organizers of the exhibition
Concept, narrative: Ewa P. Porębska
Exhibition space and artwork design: Jerzy Porębski
Visual identity: Edgar Bąk, Edgar Bąk Studio
Typesetting: Piotr Śliwiński
Translation: Dorota Wąsik, linguistic consultation Jacek Wiśniewski and Ewa Kuryłowicz
English version available for download (online pdf) and as printouts in the exhibition area
Organised by: Architektura- murator magazine
Collaboration: The ZODIAK Warsaw Pavilion of Architecture, The City of Warsaw , The Warsaw Branch of the Association of Polish Architects,
Lecture Partners: CCCB Barcelona, Mies van der Rohe Foundation, Architekturzentrum Wien
Accompanying lectures (held online, in English):
• 12 December 2022, at 11:00 a.m.
Judit Carrera, director of CCCB Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona
• 19 January 2023, at 11:00 a.m.
Angelika Fitz, director of Architekturzentrum Wien AZW
• 31 January 2023, at 11:00 a.m.
Anna Ramos, director of Fundació Mies van der Rohe
More information at www.archikolaze.pl
Download the information related to this event here.
Title
ARCHICOLLAGES / The Exhibition Celebrating 40 Years of Ewa P. Porębska's Work in Architectural MediaType
ExhibitionWebsite
Organizers
From
December 07, 2022 10:00 AMUntil
February 15, 2023 07:00 PMVenue
ZODIAK Warsaw Pavilion of ArchitectureAddress
