Gifts of Friendship

The “gift economy” builds human relationships—but it also carries an obligation. It is about giving, receiving, and reciprocating. These three categories are inextricably linked. The collection of Gifts of Friendship creates a multidimensional portrait of the museum, understood not as a neutral repository of objects, but as a living network of artistic exchange.

Since its inception, Muzeum Sztuki in Łódź has developed its collection through close collaboration with artists. Its foundation was the International Collection of Modern Art, composed of gifts, initiated by Władysław Strzemiński, Katarzyna Kobro, and other members of the “a.r.” group, first exhibited in 1931. The main goal of the historical avant-garde was to bring art closer to life and social change, and the “gift economy” was one of its tools.

Today, in a world of geopolitical instability and uncertainty, it is precisely the utopian formula of the gift that enables transcending national, political, and linguistic boundaries. The Gifts of Friendship exhibition pays homage to successive generations of artists who work in the spirit of shared responsibility for the public role of art. This long-term project re-examines and updates the historical model, showing how acts of solidarity and donations continue to shape the museum’s identity.

The exhibition presents works by artists associated with Muzeum Sztuki for many decades—including Liam Gillick, K.ari.n Schneider, and R.H. Quaytman—as well as those whose work has entered into dialogue with its program in recent years, including Jasmina Cibic, Veronika Hapchenko, Agata Ingarden, Nikita Kadan, wendelien van oldenborgh, Paulina Ołowska, Agnieszka Polska, Mykola Ridnyi, Viktor Timofeev, Julita Wójcik, and Anton Vidokle. Among those showing their works in the museum for the first time are: Yane Calovski, Andrea Fraser, Josiah McElheny, and Jeff Preiss.

Presented in both venues, ms¹ and ms², Gifts of Friendship is a form of exercise in institutional imagination. The exhibition examines the gift as a relational practice, exploring relationships between artists, the museum, and the audience. It consists of three poetic and political parts. The exhibition in ms¹ focuses on interpretations of the avant-garde legacy in relation to the Neoplastic Room (sixth floor); and also collecting and reciprocity as carriers of memory and identity, in relation to the museum’s once palatial interiors (third floor). Works gathered in ms² (ground floor) show visions of the present and future in relation to the museum’s permanent collection: the exhibition Ways of Seeing.

Artists:

ms¹:

Pauline Boudry & Renate Lorenz, Isabelle Cornaro, Jakub Czyszczoń, Anchan / Anna Daučíková, Cian Dayrit, Cécile Dupaquier, Morgan Fisher, Andrea Fraser, Barbara Hammer, Veronika Hapchenko, Adam Harrison, Liam Gillick, João Maria Gusmão, Agata Ingarden, Zuzanna Janin, Eduardo Kac, Nikita Kadan, Tomasz Kowalski, Jiří Kovanda, Susanne Kriemann, Kamil Kuskowski, Katalin Ladik, Diana Lelonek, Zbigniew Libera, Tomasz Machciński, Marcin Maciejowski, Yarema Malashchuk & Roman Khimei, Jumana Manna, Dóra Maurer, Josiah McElheny, Verena Melgarejo Weinandt, John Miller, Haroon Mirza, Deimantas Narkevičius, wendelien van oldenborgh, Paulina Ołowska, Angelo Plessas, Agnieszka Polska, Cezary Poniatowski, Jeff Preiss, Florian Pumhösl, R.H. Quaytman, Willem de Rooij, Wilhelm Sasnal, K.ari.n Schneider, Janek Simon, Marek Sobczyk, Viktor Timofeev, Suzanne Treister, Fernando Varela, Mona Vătămanu & Florin Tudor, Anton Vidokle, James Welling, Julita Wójcik, Tobias Zielony, Heimo Zobernig

selected works from the Richard Demarco Archive

ms²:

Agata Bogacka, Agnieszka Brzeżańska, Yane Calovski, Lou Cantor, Jasmina Cibic, Gelatin, Liam Gillick, Thomas Hirschhorn, Nikolay Karabinovych, Hassan Khan, Kitty Kraus, Ghislaine Leung, Ahmet Öğüt, Mykola Ridnyi, John Smith, Hito Steyerl, Gabriele Stötzer, Michael Stevenson, Iza Tarasewicz, Franz Erhard Walther

honorary patronage:

The exhibition "Gifts of Friendship" is under the honorary patronage of Marta Cienkowska, Minister of Culture and National Heritage and Joanna Skrzydlewska, Marshal of the Łódź Voivodeship.

exhibition partners:

communication partner:

media patrons: