The opening of the exhibition “Records. Leszek Brogowski and gallery gn 1978—1981”

Can and how can photography become a tool for critical thinking and the gallery a place for building an independent community? How to create art in the reality of political constraints? We invite you to the opening of the exhibition dedicated to the work of Leszek Brogowski and the history of the legendary Gdańsk gn gallery operating between 1978 and 1981 — the predecessor of the Gdańsk Gallery of Photography.

The exhibition includes archival materials documenting the unique conceptual activity of the gallery: photographs, drawings, graphics, ephemeral prints, as well as drawings and instant photographs little-known in Poland by Leszek Brogowski and selected works by artists exhibiting in gn.

Artist, intellectual, engineer

Leszek Brogowski — humanist, intellectual, engineer, graduate of the Gdańsk University of Technology — was one of the few artists invited to co-create the International Polaroid Collection in the 1980s. In his practice, he consistently expanded the field of art, analyzing the meaning of the message and the materiality of the work. He regarded photography as a democratic tool — accessible, universal and carrying the potential for social change. In the spirit of conceptualism, close to Fluxus, he used it as a medium of analysis and documentation, breaking away from the tradition of aestheticizing the image that prevailed in Poland between 1945 and 1990.

Neo-avant-garde in Gdańsk

The gn gallery, operating under the Association of Polish Photographic Artists of the Pomeranian District, has become one of the most important centers of conceptual and performative art in Poland. In less than four years — from January 3, 1978 to December 13, 1981 — nearly 50 exhibitions were realized, most of which were accompanied by original catalogues. The gallery's director and leader was Leszek Brogowski, who, together with the young artists Witold Węgryn, Paweł Borkowski and Wojciech Leszczyński, invited both well-known and lesser-known figures of the local and national art scene, including Jan Berdyszak, Wojciech Bruszewski, Małgorzata Borowska, Witosław Czerwonka, Zbigniew Dłubak, Teresa Murak, Jadwiga Przybylak, Andrzej Różycki, Zofia Rydet and Grzegorz Sztabiński, as well as foreign artists such as Victor Burgin, Stano Filco, Milan Grygar, Ivan Kafka, Jürgen O. Olbrich, ORLAN and the HPA (Histoire et Prospection de l'Art) group.

GN's activity was part of the landscape of the Polish neo-avant-garde, co-created by Foto-Medium-Art galleries in Wrocław, Akumulatory 2 in Poznań and Studio in Warsaw. Unlike many of them, gn was not associated with an art college — it grew out of a grassroots initiative of photographers, artists and critics.

The creators of the gallery did not formulate a manifesto. They saw the value of art in practicing it, building relationships and exchanging thoughts and consistently maintaining a creative attitude in life. The goal was not to create masterpieces, but to develop the creative process as a way of thinking and acting. That is why Leszek Brogowski and the art critic Marcela Bacciarelli, who collaborated with him, invited artists interested in the non-commercial and analytical dimension of art, open to experiment and new forms of cooperation, to the exhibitions that change every month. Their activities were part of the democratic artistic practices developing in Poland and Central Europe and international exchange networks.

Unique gn gallery formula

“The formula of the gallery turned out to be surprisingly contemporary. It functioned as a platform for the exchange of thoughts, a laboratory of collaboration and an institutional experiment, not just a place for the presentation of works. Brogowski created a tool for building relationships and artistic community — a space in which the creative process was as important as its result. Next to the AUT gallery (since 1981 OUT) gn was the only conceptual exhibition space in the Tri-City — says Małgorzata Taraszkiewicz-Zwolicka, co-curator of the exhibition.

The activities of the gallery were interrupted by the introduction of martial law. In January 1982, Leszek Brogowski closed the gallery in protest and emigrated to France. There he undertook philosophical studies at the Sorbonne and then began his scientific career at the University of Rennes.

— The exhibition tells about the motivations of artists working in the realities of late communism and courageous strategies of cooperation and collective action. It shows how, despite travel restrictions, international networks of contacts were built, correspondence was used as a means of communication and the development of mail art practices. At the same time, it raises questions about the relevance of these experiences — communality, self-organization and alternative models of functioning of art institutions, which remain inspiring even today — adds co-curator Witold Kanicki, art historian, critic and curator, lecturer at the University of Arts in Poznań.

The exhibition will feature works from the archives of Leszek Brogowski, Paweł Borkowski, Marta Olchowik-Choynowska, Witold Węgrzyn, the National Museum in Gdańsk, the Zofia Rydet Foundation, the Museum of Art in Łódź and from the collection of the exhibition partner, Alain Oudin — a French architect, gallery owner and collector who since 1983 he supported Brogowski by organizing his first French exhibition at the gallery À l'Enseignement des Oudin.

The exhibition is accompanied by a book with texts by Leszek Brogowski, Witold Kanicki, Małgorzata Taraszkiewicz-Zwolicka and Maksymilian Wroniszewski. On Saturday 10 October at 13.00 there will also be an accompanying event from the Conversations about Photography series — exhibition curators Małgorzata Taraszkiewicz-Zwolicka and Witold Kanicki will talk with artists Leszek Brogowski, Witold Węgrzyn and Paweł Borkowski. The meeting, which will be held in the NOMUS auditorium, is free of charge.

The exhibition partners are: Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk, Polish Institute in Paris, Alain Oudin Ensign des Oudin, Fonds de Dotation, Gdańsk Economic Development Agency.