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Janina Musiałczyk. W drodze, on the road

Janina Musiałczyk, 2023
©
Krzysztof Nast

Janina Musiałczyk was born in Kraśnik in 1943. From 1947 onwards, she spent the rest of her childhood years growing up in Łódź, before studying at the State Higher School of Visual Arts (Państwowa Wyższa Szkoła Sztuk Plastycznych), now known as the Strzemiński Academy of Fine Arts Łódź (Akademia Sztuk Pięknych im. Władysława Strzemińskiego w Łodzi), from 1961–67. From 1967–81, she ran the group of studios dedicated to the fine arts in the Palace of Youth (Pałac Młodzieży) in Łódź. In 1981, a few months before the imposition of martial law, she left Poland, emigrating to Hamburg via Sweden. In 1985, together with Renate Schröder, she founded a private art school in Hamburg, which she headed until 2000. From 1969–2021, she showed her work in around 30 solo exhibitions in Poland, Switzerland and Germany, 22 of which were in Hamburg, and was involved in a further 20 group exhibitions. The online exhibition shown here presents 99 works from 1974–2022. The introductory text is followed by words from people who have accompanied her on her journey.

Mediathek Sorted

Media library
  • Fig. 1: “Meetings on the Road” (Begegnungen unterwegs) 35, 1995 - Black ink, gouache on paper, 36x47.5 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 2: “Here and There” (Hier und dort) 20, 1984 - Black and coloured ink on paper, 31.5x32 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 3: “Here and There” (Hier und dort) 21, 1984 - Black and coloured ink on paper, 31.5x32 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 4: “Divided Landscape, Created Landscape” (Geteilte Landschaft, gestaltete Landschaft) 19, 1983 - Black ink, gouache on paper, 25x32 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 5: “On the Road” (Unterwegs) 13, 1996 - Acrylic on canvas, 46x33 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 6: “On the Road” (Unterwegs) 1, 1996 - Acrylic on canvas, 46x33 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 7: “Here and There” (Hier und dort) 8, 1986 - Gouache, oil pastel on paper, 22x31.5 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 8: “People, Borders, Landscapes” (Menschen, Grenzen, Landschaften) 30, 1986 - Gouache, watercolour, white and black ink, mixed technique on paper, 29.5x41 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 9: “Here and There” (Hier und dort) 25, 1984 - Black ink on paper, 53x70 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 10: “Here and There” (Hier und dort) 10, 1986 - Coloured pencils on paper, 24x32 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 11: “Here and There” (Hier und dort) 11, 1986 - Watercolour, black ink on paper, 23.5x31 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 12: “Here and There” (Hier und dort) 22, 1984 - Black and coloured ink on paper, 45x63 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 13: “Here and There” (Hier und dort) 23, 1984 - Black ink on paper, 35x50 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 14: “Here and There” (Hier und dort) 24, 1984 - Black and white ink on paper, 50x70 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 15: “Here and There” (Hier und dort) 18, 1983 - Black ink, gouache on paper, 20x29 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 16: “Here and There” (Hier und dort) 6, 1986 - Black and white ink, watercolour on paper, 27x37.5 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 17: “Departure, Exodus” (Fortgang, Exodus) 13, 2000 - Black ink on paper, 30x40 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 18: “Meetings on the Road (II)” (Begegnungen unterwegs) 3, 1999 - Black ink on paper, 30x40 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 19: “Meetings on the Road (II)” (Begegnungen unterwegs) 2, 2000 - Black ink on paper, 30.5x41 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 20: “Meetings on the Road (II)” (Begegnungen unterwegs) 3, 2000 - Black ink, watercolour on paper, 29x42 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 21: “Meetings on the Road (III)” (Begegnungen unterwegs) 3, 2013 - Black, white ink, gouache on paper, 29x40 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 22: “People, Borders, Landscapes” (Menschen, Grenzen, Landschaften) 4, 1988 - Pastels on paper, 35x45 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 23: “Meetings on the Road (II)” (Begegnungen unterwegs) 6, 1998 - Black ink on paper, 29x39 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 24: “Here and There” (Hier und dort) 23, 1984 - Black ink, gouache on paper, 20x28 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 25: “The Earth” (Die Erde) 5, 1974 - Black ink on paper, 34x47 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 26: “The Earth” (Die Erde) 6, 1974 - Black ink on paper, 40x50 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 27: “Together” (Zusammen) 6, 2000 - Black ink on paper, 32x41 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 28: “Together” (Zusammen) 8, 2000 - Black ink, gouache on paper, 32x41 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 29: “Together” (Zusammen) 4, 2000 - Black ink on paper, 32x40.5 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 30: “It Teeters (II)” (Es taumelt) 3, 2001 - Black ink on paper, 30x40 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 31: “It Teeters (II)” (Es taumelt) 6, 2000 - Black ink on paper, 30x40 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 32: “Coming, Becoming, Going” (Kommen, werden, gehen) 28, 1993 - Black ink on paper, 70x50 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 33: “Coming, Becoming, Going” (Kommen, werden, gehen) 21, 1993 - Black ink on paper, 42x29.5 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 34: “Coming, Becoming, Going” (Kommen, werden, gehen) 13, 1993 - Black ink on paper, 42x29.5 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 35: “Coming, Becoming, Going” (Kommen, werden, gehen) 20, 1993 - Black ink on paper, 42x29.5 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 36: “Coming, Becoming, Going” (Kommen, werden, gehen) 15, 1993 - Black ink on paper, 42x29.5 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 37: “Coming, Becoming, Going” (Kommen, werden, gehen) 12, 1993 - Black ink on paper, 42x29.5 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 38: “Coming, Becoming, Going” (Kommen, werden, gehen) 29, 1993 - Black ink on paper, 58.5x80 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 39: “Coming, Becoming, Going” (Kommen, werden, gehen) 30, 1993 - Black ink on paper, 39.5x56.5 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 40: “It Teeters” (Es taumelt) 5, 1995 - Black ink on paper, 29.5x42 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 41: “It Teeters” (Es taumelt) 4, 1995 - Black ink on paper, 29.5x42 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 42: “Coming, Becoming, Going” (Kommen, werden, gehen) 27, 1993 - Black ink on paper, 42x29.5 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 43: “Rented Rooms” (Mieträume) 4, 1998 - Black ink on paper, 32x42 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 44: “It Teeters” (Es taumelt) 21, 1996 - Black ink on paper, 32x41 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 45: “Departure, Exodus” (Fortgang, Exodus) 23, 2000 - Black ink on paper, 32x41 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 46: “Departure, Exodus” (Fortgang, Exodus) 41, 2000 - Black ink on paper, 32x41 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 47: “Departure, Exodus” (Fortgang, Exodus) 18, 2000 - Black ink on paper, 32x41 cm, Emigration Museum Gdynia/Muzeum Emigracji w Gdyni
  • Fig. 48: “Departure, Exodus” (Fortgang, Exodus) 40, 2000 - Black ink on paper, 32x41 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 49: “Departure, Exodus” (Fortgang, Exodus) 61, 2000 - Black ink on paper, 32x41 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 50: “Meetings on the Road (III)” (Begegnungen unterwegs) 8, 2011 - Black ink, gouache on paper, 28x40 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 51: “Meetings on the Road (III)” (Begegnungen unterwegs) 12, 2012 - Black ink, gouache on paper, 28x40 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 52: “Meetings on the Road (II)” (Begegnungen unterwegs) 14, 1998 - Black ink on paper, 30x40 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 53: “Meetings on the Road (II)” (Begegnungen unterwegs) 17, 1998 - Black ink on paper, 30x40 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 54: “It Teeters” (Es taumelt) 36, 1995 - Black ink on paper, 29x42 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 55: “Here and There” (Hier und dort) 8, 1985 - Black ink on paper, 30x42 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 56: “From Here to There” (Von hier bis dort) 3, 1996 - Black ink on paper, 30x40 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 57: “From Here to There” (Von hier bis dort) 2, 1996 - Black ink on paper, 30x40 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 58: “Coming, Becoming, Going (II)” (Kommen, werden, gehen) 39, 1998 - Black ink on paper, 30x40 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 59: “It Teeters” (Es taumelt) 7, 1995 - Black ink on paper, 29x42 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 60: “Meetings on the Road” (Begegnungen unterwegs) 12, 1995 - Coloured pencils on paper, 29.5x42 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 61: “Journeys” (Auf Reisen) 23, 2000 - Black ink on paper, 24x30 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 62: “Meetings on the Road (II)” (Begegnungen unterwegs) 29, 2000 - Pencil, coloured pencils, black ink on paper, 12x12 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 63: “On the Road” (Unterwegs) 9, 1998 - Black ink on paper, 30x40 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 64: “Ghosts and Houses” (Geister und Häuser) 13, 2015 - Acrylic, coloured pencils on paper, 30x40 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 65: “Ghosts and Houses” (Geister und Häuser) 3, 2015 - Acrylic, coloured pencils on paper, 30x40 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 66: “Ghosts and Houses” (Geister und Häuser) 16, 2015 - Acrylic, coloured pencils on paper, 30x40 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 67: “Meetings on the Road” (Begegnungen unterwegs) 22, 1996 - Black ink on paper, 31x42 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 68: “Meetings on the Road” (Begegnungen unterwegs) 24, 1996 - Black ink on paper, 32x42 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 69: “Meetings on the Road” (Begegnungen unterwegs) 37, 1995 - Black ink, acrylic, chalk on paper, 29.5x42 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 70: “People, Borders, Landscapes” (Menschen, Grenzen, Landschaften) 5, 1988 - Gouache, coloured pencils on paper, 31x39.5 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 71: “People, Borders, Landscapes” (Menschen, Grenzen, Landschaften) 6, 1988 - Black ink, gouache, chalk on paper, 31x47 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 72: “People, Borders, Landscapes” (Menschen, Grenzen, Landschaften) 1, 1990 - Black ink, chalk, coloured pencils, acrylic on paper, 21x29 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 73: “People, Borders, Landscapes” (Menschen, Grenzen, Landschaften) 5, 1987 - Black ink, pencil, acrylic on tinted paper, 30x44 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 74: "’81” 13, 1981 - Pencil, black ink on paper, 16x24 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 75: “For the Boy” (Für den Jungen) 38, 2000 - Pencil on paper, 29x42 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 76: “For the Boy” (Für den Jungen) 32, 1998 - Pencil on paper, 29x42 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 77: “For the Boy” (Für den Jungen) 35, 1998 - Pencil on paper, 29.7x42 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 78: “Onwards” (Weiter) 15, 2021 - Acrylic on canvas, 30x30 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 79: “Steps (II)” (Stufen) 9, 2019 - Acrylic on canvas, 40x40 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 80: “Steps” (Stufen) 41, 2006 - Acrylic on canvas, 40x40 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 81: “Steps (II)” (Stufen) 03, 2019 - Acrylic on canvas, 70x50 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 82: “Steps” (Stufen) 7, 2009 - Acrylic on canvas, 70x50 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 83: “Steps” (Stufen) 41, 2006 - Acrylic on canvas, 40x40 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 84: “Steps” (Stufen) 41, 2006 - Acrylic on canvas, 24x30 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 85: “Departure, Exodus” (Fortgang, Exodus) 44, 2002 - Acrylic on canvas, 50x70 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 86: “Rented Rooms” (Mieträume) 35, 2002 - Acrylic on canvas, 54x65 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 87: “Steps” (Stufen) 33, 2006 - Acrylic on canvas, 24x30 cm, private collection
  • Fig. 88: “Episodes” (Episoden) A, 2000–2017 - Mixed technique on paper, 15x17.5 cm each, private collection
  • Fig. 89: “Episodes” (Episoden) B, 2000–2017 - Mixed technique on paper, 15x17.5 cm each, private collection
  • Fig. 90: “Episodes” (Episoden) C, 2000–2017 - Mixed technique on paper, 15x17.5 cm each, private collection
  • Fig. 91: “Episodes” (Episoden) D, 2000–2017 - Mixed technique on paper, 15x17.5 cm each, private collection
  • Fig. 92: “Episodes” (Episoden) E, 2000–2017 - Mixed technique on paper, 15x17.5 cm each, private collection
  • Fig. 93: “I Don’t See It, so It Isn’t There” (Seh nicht, also ist nicht) 1/2, 2022 - Nie widzę, więc nie ma, Hamburg 2022. Double page 1/2
  • Fig. 94: “I Don’t See It, so It Isn’t There” (Seh nicht, also ist nicht) 3/4, 2022 - Nie widzę, więc nie ma, Hamburg 2022. Double page 3/4
  • Fig. 95: “I Don’t See It, so It Isn’t There” (Seh nicht, also ist nicht) 5/6, 2022 - Nie widzę, więc nie ma, Hamburg 2022. Double page 5/6
  • Fig. 96: “I Don’t See It, so It Isn’t There” (Seh nicht, also ist nicht) 7/8, 2022 - Nie widzę, więc nie ma, Hamburg 2022. Double page 7/8
  • Fig. 97: “I Don’t See It, so It Isn’t There” (Seh nicht, also ist nicht) 11/12, 2022 - Nie widzę, więc nie ma, Hamburg 2022. Double page 11/12
  • Fig. 98: “I Don’t See It, so It Isn’t There” (Seh nicht, also ist nicht) 13/14, 2022 - Nie widzę, więc nie ma, Hamburg 2022. Double page 13/14
  • Fig. 99: “I Don’t See It, so It Isn’t There” (Seh nicht, also ist nicht) 15/16, 2022 - Nie widzę, więc nie ma, Hamburg 2022. Double page 15/16

Janina Musiałczyk. W drodze, on the road
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Pages Pages Full text Full text
Janina Musiałczyk, 2023. Photo: Krzysztof Nast
Janina Musiałczyk, 2023
©
Krzysztof Nast

People stand, disoriented, between “boundaries” and “landscapes”. They look around and lose their face (1988, Fig. 22), emerge haltingly out of themselves before an earth-like background (Fig. 70) or stand rigidly between huge rocks, crammed alone into the narrow space (Fig. 71). As a couple separated by distance, both with their share of an over-powerful urban landscape, abandoned at night, they are no longer able to find their way back to each other (all 1988/89, Fig. 72). Musiałczyk later wrote: “I lay my head / into my heart / see all / I see, / I see and see / [...] see and weep / ... / I keep walking / narrow paths / unknown places” (Ich lege meinen kopf / in das herz hinein / sehe alles / ich sehe / ich sehe und sehe / […] sehe und weine / … / ich laufe weiter / schmale wege / fremde orte).[58] Her landscapes, beyond borders, created in and divided into “here and there”, are places of clear vision and bright awareness, in which the artist is nevertheless inescapably deeply rooted and buried in the earth.

There is a long tradition in Polish painting of expressing inner spiritual states through landscape elements. In the art of Young Poland (Młoda Polska), a heterogeneous artistic movement in the period around 1900, which at the European level is most closely comparable to Symbolism,[59] the most important Polish artists examined their own inner psychological states through “symbolic landscapes, in which a meaning was ascribed to every single element”[60]. For Jan Stanisławski, for example, water and clouds symbolised the past, while poplars swaying in the wind were the power of nature,[61] and earth was consistency, stability. In his painting “The Earth”[62], Ferdynand Ruszczyc portrayed “the ancient power and indomitability of nature, which puts mankind in its place”.[63] One critic saw “the soul of the artist” in the picture, which “gave expression to the soul of nature in a powerful, peaceful atmosphere”.[64] Wojciech Weiss, who was an enthusiastic admirer of Munch and his friend, the writer Stanisław Przybyszewski, used the dying nature of autumn to express transience and death, to name just a few examples.

Most landscapes of the Young Poland movement are devoid of people, unlike the landscapes of European Symbolism, such as those by Hodler, Böcklin, Kupka, Puvis de Chavannes, Segantini, Klinger and Munch, in which the human figure opens up further levels of interpretation. Six decades later, Fijałkowski used abstract images to create empty landscapes, which enable the viewer to project their own fantasies and states of mind. Against this wide background, Musiałczyk created an intermediate realm using elements of figurative abstraction, in which the landscape bestows on the human form a dramatic, but transient state of the soul.

 

[58] “I lay my head” (ich lege meinen kopf …), written in September 2002, in: w drodze_unterwegs 2015 (see note 32).

[59] See also Axel Feuß on this portal: Waren sie wirklich “Rebellen”? Zur Münchner Ausstellung “Stille Rebellen. Polnischer Symbolismus um 1900”, https://www.porta-polonica.de/de/atlas-der-erinnerungsorte/waren-sie-wirklich-rebellen-zur-muenchner-ausstellung-stille-rebellen.

[60] Urszula Kozakowska-Zaucha: Landschaften der Trauer und der Hoffnung. Naturdarstellungen in der Malerei des Jungen Polen, in: Stille Rebellen. Polnischer Symbolismus um 1900, exhibition catalogue, Kunsthalle München, Munich 2022, page 81.

[61] Jan Stanisławski: “Poplars on Water” (Topole nad wodą), 1900, oil on canvas, 145.5 x 80.5 cm, National Museum in Krakow (Muzeum Narodowe w Krakowie).

[62] Ferdynand Ruszczyc: “The Earth” (Ziemia), 1898, oil on canvas 171x219 cm, National Museum in Warsaw (Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie).

[63] Kozakowska-Zaucha 2022 (see note 60), page 79.

[64] Ibid., page 79 f.

Janina Musiałczyk, 2023
©
Krzysztof Nast
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