THE 9TH BIENNALE OF YOUNG ART “RYBIE OKO”
Witches’ Tower // al. F. Nullo 8 / Słupsk
Centre for Creative Activitites // ul. Zaruskiego 1a / Ustka
Small Gallery / ul. Partyzantów 31a / Słupsk
05.10 – 10.12.2015
Opening 6 October 2017, 7 p.m.
CAT [The Centre for Creative Activities] Ustka
This year marked the 9th Biennale of Young Art “Rybie Oko”, which has been organised since 2001 by the Baltic Gallery of Contemporary Art in Słupsk. The festival aims to promote the artistic achievements of the young generation, with the gallery providing a communication platform for the artists to present and confront their attitudes and achievements. To this end, the biennale offers not only exhibitions, but also panel meetings and discussions with art critics and theorists.
The works selected for the exhibition seem to reflect quite accurately the condition of Polish art created by young individuals. Although they represent various attitudes, one can easily discern the spectrum of ideas and key themes that bind the artists together. Intriguingly, the works reflecting existential issues, especially privacy and intimacy, are accompanied by those which underscore and interpret the current social reality or redefine our past and identity. On the other hand, there are many works which consciously and formally allude to past aesthetics and stylistics. The latter covers not just art itself, but the entire iconosphere. Young artists quite often combine or traverse various tendencies and means of expression, their work drawing on the postmodern idea of a kaleidoscopic world. In terms of the form, their art embraces both abstraction or figurativeness. What seems an undeniable sign of the times is the dominance of so-called new media – especially video and photography.
In 2017, the biennale was held in the Chamber Gallery of the Witches’ Tower in Słupsk and the Centre for Creative Activities in Ustka. The entire project was co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. A total of 300 entries was received, from which the jury composed of Sebastian Cichocki, Roman Lewandowski, Adam Mazur, Piotr Stasiowski and Edyta Wolska, selected 15 artists who qualified for the exhibition. The vernissage took place on October 5, 2017, and the exhibition will run until 10 December, 2017.
Participants of the Biennale of Young Art “Rybie Oko 9”:
Agnieszka Antokowiak
Martyna Czech
kolektyw Czy to warto (Natalia Dołgowska & Michalina Musielak)
Wojciech Gąsiorowski
Ewa Kubiak
Kamil Kukla
Magdalena Lazar
Agnieszka Mastalerz
Tymon Nogalski
Krzysztof Piętka
Jana Shostak
Grzegorz Stefański
Tytus Szabelski
kolektyw Trzecie (Maciej Szczęśniak & Sara Piotrowska)
Katarzyna Szymkiewicz
Award-winning artists:
1. The Grand Prix, i.e. the Main Award in the amount of PLN 25,000 went to Grzegorz Stefański, who also received an invitation to a monthly residence at the Centre for Creative Activities in Ustka.
2. The Award of the Marshal of the Pomeranian Province in the amount of PLN 9,000 was presented to Agnieszka Antkowiak.
3. The Award of the Mayor of the City of Słupsk in the amount of PLN 1,000. (for the project to exhibit the work in public spaces of the city of Słupsk) went to Jana Shostak
4. The Award of the Mayor of the City of Ustka in the amount of PLN 3,000 was presented to Katarzyna Szymkiewicz.
Three sponsor-funded honourable mentions, in the amount of PLN 1,000 each, were presented to Krzysztof Piętka, Kamil Kukla, Magdalena Lazar.
The Award of the Director of the Baltic Gallery of Contemporary Art in the form of an invitation to a solo exhibition in one of the three showrooms of the Baltic Gallery of Contemporary Art in 2018 was presented to Maciej Szczęśniak & Sara Piotrowska (collective).
Co-funded by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage:
Sponsor:
Honorary patronage:
Media patronage:
