IMAGINARY REQUESTS

The New Year is a time to wish each other the best, certainly for it to be better than the year before. To celebrate another beginning, Turnus is presenting an exhibition titled ‘Imaginary requests’, showing the works of twelve invited artists: Inga Wójcik, Piotrek Kowalski, Sebastian Mikoś, Wiktoria Walendzik, Tomek Tofilski, Zuzia Kozłowska, Basia Grajner, Natalia Karczewska, Kuba Stępień, Mani Łukaszewska, Nadia Markiewicz and Michał Maliński.

Turnus is an independent art and curatorial collective led by Kamila Falecka and Marcelina Gorczynska since 2020 driven by the belief that art flourishes in casual, social settings. Therefore, this time the collective focuses its attention on requests, which are often just an excuse, an innocent line to build various relationships and connections. During Turnus’ exhibitions, many artistic voices can be seen and this is also the case here. Each window belongs to one of the twelve guests. The descriptions are requests by neighbouring artists, but the order is reversed. They were written by looking at already finished works, because it was just an excuse for them to compliment each other’s works and collaborate.

Hey, I’ve got a favor to ask…

It’s a constant search for the pretexts mentioned before – broken objects, things that can’t be fixed by just you alone. The selection of artists for this exhibition was determined by the desire to engage with people who would be open to fulfilling tiny, small, mini, innocent, humble, small, shy requests, kindnesses and favors.

We start with notes and musical wishes in the rhythm of do re mi fa so la. Inga Wójcik experiments with text, stave and various signs to create her own language describing her thoughts and dreams piling up. Next to her is Piotr Kowalski’s ‘Book’, a container for information or a cleared out letterbox. Are you sure it’s a book? We look to the right, and there is a strange, fairytale-like scene of capturing a butterfly, and right next to it another work by Sebastian Mikoś, ‘Everything in the World’. Both works set a surreal aura that foreshadows several more requests and windows. There is a dog on a table, a sculpture by Wiktoria Walendzik, who asked Tomek Tofilski for a pink, shiny and powerful shape-shifting machine, a personal assistant, a friend, a knowledge base, a means of transport, a non-cow, a companion, sometimes a dremel, and sometimes morphing into a dog…The ‘Bombka’ was created, and Tomek asked just for advice. Next window looks like it’s offering a choice between three options. The one on the left looks a bit tattered, and the one on the right might at least have items hidden, maybe some coins in the thing that looks like a pocket. The middle shirt with a pre-war collar by Zuzanna Kozłowska is the wise choice, let’s just hope the paper lasts until next year. Then the endless road, only a fragment of Basia Grajner’s mirage. Basia, after this trip, asks for something that is not just for a moment. She gets Natalia Karczewska’s ‘Eyes on the Pillows’, a sculpture that, in a disturbing, but also slightly flirtatious way, shows the staring, or perhaps the personification of the starring pillow. What follows is… a request for invisibility and the question of who is looking, all on a painting by Kuba Stępień, an interdisciplinary artistic person experimenting with a collage of paper, prints, ink and saliva. Again, we look, but this time we shouldn’t do that, we are blinded by the sun and become a part of the series of paintings by Mania Łukaszewska. Sunshine, flowers, a seemingly idyllic garden full of mutant roses by Nadia Markiewicz, who closes the circle of requests by asking Michał Maliński to break away from the earth for a while, which we can see in the last window.

KOLOFON

30.01. – 04.05.2025

Galeria Art Walk, plac Europejski, Warszawa

Artists: Inga Wójcik, Piotrek Kowalski, Sebastian Mikoś, Wiktoria Walendzik, Tomek Tofilski, Zuzia Kozłowska, Basia Grajner, Natalia Karczewska, Kuba Stępień, Mania Łukaszewska, Nadia Markiewicz, Michał Maliński
Curators: Turnus (Kamila Falęcka, Marcelina Gorczyńska)
Author of the text: Turnus

Graphic design and set design: Turnus
Exhibition architecture: Turnus i Piotrek Kowalski

Organisers: Fundacja Sztuka w Mieście, Ghelamco

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