CONTACT: redsea@irys.infocentrum.com
Artist, curator, and organizer, Ryszard Wasko has worked in multimedia, including photography, film, video, installation, painting, and drawing. In the 1970s, Wasko came to prominence as a conceptual artist in the 1970s. During that time, he studied at the Academy of Film, TV and Theatre in Lodz, Poland and was a member of Workshop, an avant-garde collective of painters, filmmakers, critics, poets, philosophers and scientists, working with experimental film and multimedia. Beginning In 1981 in Lodz, Wasko initiated and organized Construction in Process, a series of exhibitions featuring works of art created on site. Artists who are invited to participate in Construction in Process invite in turn, another group of participants, giving the project a dynamic, open character. Construction in Process has taken place in several countries, including Poland, Germany, and Israel.
In the 1980s, Wasko received a DAAD Fellowship in Berlin among other residencies. He exhibited and lectured extensively in Europe. Wasko returned to Poland in 1989 and founded The International Artists’ Museum in Lodz. It has since developed into a worldwide network of locally run art centers, linking artists and intellectuals from diverse backgrounds, locations, and disciplines. In recent years, the Museum has organized and sponsored over 60 major international events, exhibitions, meetings, panels, concerts, readings, and projects focusing on art, culture, borders, community, and identity. Wasko lives and works in Lodz, Poland. His art has been shown in Europe, the United States, Australia, and Israel. Recent solo exhibitions include Nasty Bedtime Stories, Galeria 86, Lodz, 2003, Bedtime Stories, Center for the Arts, Orensanz Foundation, New York, 2002, Herzeliya Gallery, Herzeliya, Israel, 2001, and Wschodnia Gallery, Lodz, 2001.
| Activity | ||
| 2006 | Creates the Construction in Process-Museum in Lodz, Poland | |
| 2004-05 |  |
Professor at the Valand School of Fine Arts in Göteborg, Sweden. |
| 2004 | Initiates and co-curates the first Lodz Biennale 2004. | |
| 2001 |
Curates Markers, an international exhibition of works by artists and poets for the Venice Biennale, Italy. |
|
| 2000 | Organizes international art event Construction in Process VII: This earth is a flower in Bydgoszcz, Poland. Lectures at Brandeis University, USA, and the Art Academy in Lodz, Poland. | |
| 1998 | Curates international exhibition Construction in Process VI: The Bridge, Melbourne, Australia. | |
| 1997-99 | President of the International Artists Forum (IKG) in Cologne, Germany. | |
| 1995 | Initiates international art event Construction in Process V: Co-existence, in the Negev desert, Israel. | |
| 1994-97 |
Artist in residence at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, the Art-OMI, New York, among others. |
|
| 1993 | Organizes international exhibition Construction in Process IV: My home is your home in Lodz, Poland. | |
| 1990-92 | Program Director at the P.S.1 Museum and Institute of Contemporary Art, New York. | |
| 1989 | Initiates Construction in Process III: Back in Lodz. Sets up the International Artists’ Museum in Lodz, Poland. Branches of the Artists' Museum exist in New York, Tel-Aviv, Berlin, Paris, Cardiff and Melbourne. | |
| 1985 | Curates Construction in Process II: Prozess und Konstruktion in Munich. Also organizes the second collection of Construction in Process, the Munich Collection. | |
| 1983–1990 | Gives lectures at art schools around Europe, including Academy of Art, Dusseldorf, Offenbach School of Art, Hochschule der Künste in Berlin and Essen, among others. | |
| 1982-83 | Under martial law in Poland, initiates and organizes a network of underground galleries in Lodz and Warsaw. Gives lectures and publishes a number of critical texts on art. Presents lectures and takes part in nummerous international exhibitions. | |
| 1981 | Originates and organizes the international exhibition, Construction in Process in Lodz. It is the largest independent exhibition of contemporary art ever organized in Poland. Organizes The Solidarity Collection, works by international artists created for the Construction in Process event. | |
| 1979 | Sets up Archives of Contemporary Thought, a forum for symposia and art events, Lodz, Poland. | |
| 1970–1983 | Lecturer in the departments of experimental media and photography at the Academy of Film, Television and Theatre, Lodz, Poland. | |
| 1970-76 | Member of “Workshop of the Film Form”, one of the most important artsitic groups in Poland in the 70s. “Warsztat Formy Filmowej” was a multimedia group of painters, filmmakers, poets, engaged in experimental art. | |
| 2009 |
Contemporary Portrait, Haus am Lützowplatz, Berlin |
|
| 2008 |
Ryszard Wasko, Lodz – Berlin; works 1971-1996,
Museum of History of the City of Lodz, Lodz |
|
| 2007 |
N.N. Portret Współczesny, Galeria
86, Lodz |
|
| 2006 |
TV Stories, Lodz Biennale 2006, Lodz |
|
| 2005 |
I am telling you a secret, Galeria Wschodnia,
Lodz |
|
| 2003 |
Nasty Bedtime Stories, Galeria 86, Lodz |
|
| 2001 |
Small Retrospective, Galeria 86, Lodz |
|
| 2000 |
Ryszard Wasko, Many H Gallery, Tel Aviv |
|
| 1997 |
Small Rose Garden, International Artist's Museum, Lodz |
|
| 1995 | Ryszard Wasko. Retrospection 1970-1990 (photography, film, video), Galeria FF, Lodz | |
| 1993 | Meal for the Rich & Poor, Construction in Process IV, Galeria Wschodnia, Lodz | |
| 1991 |
My Flowers are Fruits, Construction in Process III,
Galeria Wschodnia, Lodz Ryszard Wasko, Galeria Labirynt 2, Biuro Wystaw Artystycznych, Lublin New Works, Galerie André Joliet, Duisburg |
|
| 1987 |
Homage for the Street, Ruine der Künste, Berlin |
|
| 1986 |
Ryszard Wasko, Neuer Berliner Kunstverein, Berlin |
|
| 1984 |
Ryszard Wasko, Brigitte March
Galerie, Stuttgart |
|
| 1982-83 |
Filmshow and lectures, Slade School of Art, London & St. Martin’s School of Art, Wimbledon & School of Printing, Camberwell College London & others |
|
| 1981 |
Small Retrospective, Museum
Folkwang, Essen |
|
| 1979 |
Ryszard Wasko, Galeria Ślad, Lodz |
|
| 1976 |
Ryszard Wasko, Galerie “m”, Bochum |
|
| 1975 |
Ryszard Wasko, Galeria Remont, Warsaw |
|
| 1974 |
Filmshow, Cinémathèque Royal de Belgique, Bruxelles |
|
| 1972 | Remont Gallery, Warsaw | |
| 1972 |
Ryszard Wasko. Photography, Filmschool, Lodz |
|
| Selected Group Exhibitions | ||
| 2009 |
9. Era New Horizons,
International Film Festival, Wroclaw |
|
| 2008 |
Multikino,
Cinepour Choice Film Festival - Tranzitdisplay, Prague |
|
| 2007 |
The Optical Edge, Pratt Manhattan Gallery, New
York |
|
| 2006 |
Image/Text, Tate Modern Gallery, London |
|
| 2005 |
Open Systems, Tate Modern Gallery, London |
|
| 2004 |
Biennale of Polish Art, Lodz Biennale 2004,
Lodz |
|
| 2003 | A History of Polish Avantgarde Film, MOMA, New York | |
| 2002 |
Classics, Pearls and Novelties, Cinédoc, Paris |
|
| 2001 | Markers- Project, Venice Biennale, Venice | |
| 2000 |
From Here to There, Akademie Schloss Solitude,
Stuttgart |
|
| 1999 |
Oreste Project, Venice Biennale - Italian
Pavillion, Venice |
|
| 1998 |
Personal Touch, Art in General Gallery, New York |
|
| 1997 |
Another Language, Haifa Museum of Art, Haifa |
|
| 1996 |
Hansa Art-Special, Cologne |
|
| 1995 |
Under One Roof, Podewil, Berlin |
|
| 1994 |
Central Europe: Art from the 60s, Schüppenhauer
Galerie, Cologne |
|
| 1992 | Spotkanie i Tworzenie / Begegnung und Kreation, Centrum Sztuki, Poznan | |
| 1991 |
In-between Project, Venice Biennale -
Turkish Pavillion, Venice |
|
| 1990 |
Construction in Process III – back in Lodz, Lodz |
|
| 1989 |
No man's land (Niemandsland), Kunsthalle,
Recklinghausen |
|
| 1988 | Berlin, cultural city of Europe 1988, West-Berlin | |
| 1987 |
Zeitberliner, Städtische Galerie, Stuttgart |
|
| 1986 |
Idee, Raum, Konstruktion, Kunsthalle,
Bielefeld |
|
| 1985 |
European Film Avant-garde 1960–1980 (tour-show), American
Federation of Arts |
|
| 1983 | Praesence Polonaise, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris | |
| 1982 | Sol LeWitt’s Choice, Cenobio Visualit à Gallery, Milano | |
| 1981 | Construction in Process (Konstrukcja w Procesie), Lodz | |
| 1980 |
Pier + Ocean:
Construction in the Art of the 70s,
Arts Council of Great Britain & Hayward Gallery, London & Rijksmuseum
Kröller-Müller, Otterlo |
|
| 1979 |
Drawing and photography, Muzeum Sztuki, Lodz |
|
| 1977 |
22 Polish Artists, Kölnischer Kunstverein,
Cologne |
|
| 1976 |
Mechanical Means of Message (Mechaniczne Środki
Przekazu), Galeria Ślad, Lodz |
|
| 1975 |
Workshop, Kunsthalle, Düsseldorf |
|
| 1974 | Musée du Cinéma, Bruxelles | |
| 1973 |
XII Sao Paulo Art Biennial, Sao Paulo |
|
| 1972 | Contemporary Polish Art, Richard Demarco Gallery, Edinburgh | |
| Stipends and Grants | ||
| 1998 | Jackson Pollock - Lee Krasner Foundation, Stipend | |
| 1995 | International Studio Programme, New York, Artist in residence | |
| 1994 |
Art Omi Foundation, New York, Artist in residence |
|
| 1993 | Jackson Pollock - Lee Krasner Foundation, Stipend | |
| 1992 | Scholarship of the Senat of Berlin, Berlin, Stipend | |
| 1991 | Winner of the “Sprężyna”-Award given by cultural magazine Tygiel Kultury, Lodz | |
| 1988 | Jackson Pollock - Lee Krasner Foundation, Stipend | |
| 1986 | Scholarship of the city of Munich,Villa Waldberta, Feldafing, Stipend | |
| 1985 | DAAD, German Exchange Academy, Berlin, Stipend | |
| 1982-83 | The Arts Council of Great Britain, St. Martin’s School of Art, London, Stipend | |
| 1972 | Biennale of polish photography (Biennale Fotografii Polskiej), Szczecin, Grand Prix | |
| Works in public collections (selection) : | ||
|
Städtische
Galerie Villa Zanders, Bergisch Gladbach |
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