Gender and art

AMSTERDAM.- This fall, the first Dutch solo presentation by artist Paulina Olowska (b. Gdansk, Poland, 1976) opened at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. Olowska, whose work was introduced in the Netherlands at the Stedelijk Museum Post CS (SMCS) in 2004, is one of the most fascinating artists of her generation.

 

Exhibition curator Leontine Coelewij explains: “Having followed the work of Paulina Olowska for over 10 years, I am thrilled that, after showing her work at the SMCS, we are now able to mount a more comprehensive survey. By creating connections between fashion, art, and feminism, and proposing alternatives to the roles that visual art and design can play within our society, Olowska is a unique voice in contemporary art.”

 

The exhibition encompasses painting, drawing, collage, and neon signage in an extraordinary theatrical installation. The artist is fascinated by the revolutionary potential of modernist art and design, folk art, and radical avant-gardes. In her work, she often explores different presentation typologies, examining boutique and bar interiors and the bright neon signs that enlivened the streets of Warsaw in the 1960s and ’70s. The relationships between art, design, and ideology and avant-garde and glamour are the hallmarks of Olowska’s work.