Ways of Seeing. The Collection of Muzeum Sztuki in Łódź

The exhibition focuses on the phenomenon of seeing – both as a biological function and as a cultural and political act. Divided into a dozen thematic chapters, it presents art as a tool for knowledge, for asking questions about how and why we look. Among the topics covered are: the relationship between sight and memory, the social contexts of looking, perception as a form of knowledge and a tool of resistance, as well as questions of identity, corporeality, and the sensual experience of reality.

The exhibition's title refers to John Berger's famous series and Władysław Strzemiński's "Theory of Vision". Both of these reference points are linked by the conviction that looking is never neutral – it is an activity conditioned culturally, historically, and emotionally.

The exhibition includes works by, among others, Katarzyna Kobro, Maria Jarema, Franciszka and Stefan Themerson, Zofia Rydet, Alina Szapocznikow, R.H. Quaytman, Katja Novitskova, Marysia Lewandowska, Frank Bowling, and Zbigniew Libera. The works are not arranged chronologically – instead, the exhibition guides viewers through chapters with titles taken from the presented works, such as "Description of a photo", "Multiple portrait", "Circle of acceleration", "Superobjects", or "The gaze is a bridge".

An important context for the exhibition is the "Gifts of Friendship" – nearly a hundred works donated to Muzeum Sztuki by artists from around the world. This act of solidarity recalls the avant-garde roots of the institution, which in 1931 initiated the International Collection of Modern Art precisely thanks to gifts from artists. Among the works donated in 2025 are pieces by Liam Gillick, Sharon Lockhart, Nikita Kadan, Ghislaine Leung, Kateryna Lysovenko, Goshka Macuga, Wilhelm Sasnal, Jasmina Cibic, IRWIN, and Zuzanna Janin. Some of them will be visible from October as part of the new permanent exhibition.

The exhibition is accompanied by two publications: an album catalogue with essays by Mieke Bal and Łukasz Zaremba, and an anthology of texts by artists about seeing, perception, and co-creating meanings. These are books that – like the exhibition – treat art as a form of thinking and dialogue with reality.

The exhibition Ways of Seeing. The Collection of Muzeum Sztuki in Łódź is under the honorary patronage of Marta Cienkowska, Minister of Culture and National Heritage and Joanna Skrzydlewska, Marshal of the Łódź Voivodeship.

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