THURSDAY LECTURE/Small Scale — Big Art! On the modern artistic tendencies present in the “figurines” from the Institute of Industrial Design

6 p.m.

lecture by Kai Muszyńska accompanying the exhibition [Sculpture on a furniture wall] (https://krolikarnia.mnw.art.pl/wystawy/rzezba-na-mebloscianke,203.html)

Looking at one small figurine, one can observe the formal solutions present in the greatest masterpieces of modern art of the 50s and 60s. After 1955, Polish art was freed from censorship, and our artists began to draw widely from international artistic currents. During the lecture, we will look at how sculptors-designers from the Institute of Industrial Design translated the language of the new monumental sculpture into small porcelain forms, creating their own original style. We will observe the inspiration of the trend of organic abstraction under the sign of the British sculptor Henry Moore and other important artists of the era and we will get acquainted with the Polish art scene at that time, which may have influenced the creators of the IWP.
The lecture will be conducted by the curator of the exhibition Sculpture on a Furniture Wall, available at the [Sculpture Museum in Królikarnia] (https://krolikarnia.mnw.art.pl/) until October 25, 2026. We invite you!

Deadline: Thursday, October 22, 2026, 6 p.m./[Check the dates of the next lectures] (https://www.mnw.art.pl/edukacja/programy-do-wystaw-czasowych/kolekcjoner-ignacy-korwin-milewski#wyklady)

Duration: approx. 75 minutes
Meeting place: MUZ Cinema, MNW Main Building
For whom: youth, adults, seniors
Rules of participation: free admission

Event availability: no architectural barriers, induction loop, silence room available in the Gallery of the XIX Century on the 1st floor, possibility to rent sound-absorbing headphones

[Detailed information on the availability of the National Museum in Warsaw can be found in the Museum available tab] (http://www.mnw.art.pl/wizyta/muzeum-dostepne/informacje-dla-osob-z-niepelnosprawnosciami/).

Kaja Muszyńska — curator at the Design Collections and co-curator of the Polish Design Gallery at MNW, specializes in Polish design and applied art, takes care of the ceramics collection. Author of publications on ceramics, illustrations and the history of design. Curator and co-curator of exhibitions in Poland and abroad, including “Retrotopia. Design for Socialist Spaces” at the Kunstgewerbemuseum in Berlin, and the ongoing exhibition “Sculpture for a Furniture Wall” at the Sculpture Museum in the Rabbit House. It promotes knowledge of Polish design through lectures, guided tours and cooperation with cultural institutions.

[We invite you to familiarize yourself with the full program accompanying the exhibition] (https://krolikarnia.mnw.art.pl/edukacja/programy-do-wystaw-czasowych/rzezba-na-mebloscianke/)