Fleeting Visions. Works by Students of the Scenography Department of the Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow

The encounter of scenography students with the work of Andrzej Kreutz Majewski lasted throughout the academic year 2025/26 and consisted of several stages.

The first step was studies dedicated to the artistic achievements of the great stage designer. Thanks to the Silesian Museum's courtesy, students of the Scenography Department had the opportunity to delve into the Artist's extraordinary theatrical world. They could view costumes and masks collected in the Polish Scenography Center's collections, and thanks to curator Agnieszka Kołodziej-Adamczuk, they had the chance to thoroughly familiarize themselves with the incredibly rich collection of scenographic works.

The next stage of preparations for the exhibition involved analyzing texts dedicated to the Artist, as well as his original notes in the form of diaries and interviews.

I must admit that this time it was not an easy encounter – different times, different theatrical sensibilities, a different way of thinking for successive generations of students. Slowly, however, a timeless understanding emerged, a magical thread of art connecting with the past. The discovered values of the Master's theater, and sometimes a detail or nuance noticed in his work, allowed us to continue our artistic explorations with satisfaction and to remain, for the following months, in the light of Andrzej Kreutz Majewski's achievements and the darkness of his mysteries.

In the exhibition, we show the effects of a long process of searching, enthusiasms, and wanderings, struggles and resignations. We present installations inspired by Andrzej Kreutz Majewski – his personality, his art – scenographic projects addressing theatrical themes important to the Master, costumes created in response to his works, and finally, paintings in dialogue with his scenographic designs and costumes.

The presented exhibition is mainly filled with works prepared during the academic year 2025/26. In addition to this year's works by students of the Scenography Department, we show Ewa Pieronkiewicz's installation from the exhibition “Conversations with Masters” from 2019, and works by Małgorzata Borkowicz, a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. The entire exhibition is complemented by two diploma works. One realized under the supervision of prof. Andrzej Kreutz Majewski: Stanisław Wyspiański's “Wyzwolenie” in the scenographic elaboration by Łukasz Trzciński from 2007, and the 2021 project “The Rite of Spring” by Igor Stravinsky in the elaboration by Maja Mlost, prepared under my promotional supervision.

prof. Małgorzata Komorowska