The lecture will focus on the history of Polish modernist architecture in the years 1918–1939, described from the perspective of its geographical locations and the resulting consequences for its emergence and functioning. The map of architectonic modernism will not be based exclusively on leading artistic centers or main urban areas, but will also include the “periphery”, i.e. regions, provinces and smaller localities which became hosts for unique modernization projects without which the history of modernity in the Second Polish Republic simply cannot be understood. Furthermore, the lecture will also examine the issue of the work of Polish architects – who were educated in the times of the Second Polish Republic – abroad, both in the interwar period and after World War II. Consequently, the question will arise as to the formation of extra-European centers of modernity and the involvement of Poland’s pre-war architects in the creation of “polycentric modernism”.

The lecture will be held in English. Simultaneous interpretation in German will be provided.

Prof. Andrzej Szczerski – art historian, Professor at the Institute of Art History, Jagiellonian University, and director of the National Museum in Kraków. He is the author of publications and curator of exhibitions dedicated to art and architecture in Poland and Central and Eastern Europe between the beginning of the 20th century and the present day. He curated the exhibitions Modernizations 1918-1939. The Future Perfect (2010) in Muzeum Sztuki in Łódź and Lviv on 24th June 1937. City, Architecture, Modernism in Museum of Architecture in Wrocław (2016), as well as co-curated the exhibitions Symbolism in Poland and Britain in Tate Britain in London (2009) and The Power of Fantasy. Modern and Contemporary Art from Poland in BOZAR Brussels (2011). His recent work includes the publication Transformacja. Sztuka w Europie Środkowo-Wschodniej po 1989 roku (Kraków 2018).

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Zeit & Ort

3.Jun.2020 06:30 PM in Amsterdam, Berlin, Rom, Stockholm, Wien