Aneta Grzeszykowska & Jan Smaga
Exhibition & Residency:
January 1 – February 28, 2013

“The works by Jan Smaga and Aneta Grzeszykowska have the power of an imaginary archive, a cabinet of curiosities where nonexistent characters meet each other, buildings are turned inside out and apartments are viewed from a paranormal perspective. The photographs are analytic in their nature yet at the same time they hypnotize and deceive contradicting one’s intuition. They conceal numerous riddles and traps – as their primary concern is precisely that which is not there. There’s a lot to be seen, but what cannot be seen is twice as absorbing.” – Sebastian Cichocki, from his catalog essay for their 2006 monograph

Aneta Grzeszykowska and Jan Smaga were both born in 1974 in Warsaw. They also both graduated from the Graphic Design department of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw (Grzeszykowska in 1999, Smaga in 2000). They began working as photographers and designers from the beginning of their careers, leading joint projects and individual ones alike, characterised by an intimate approach to their subject and even themselves, while also making use of digital techniques to manipulate their images and create new contexts. In 2005 the pair was nominated for the Deutsche Bank Views award for young artists and in 2006 for the prestigious Polityka Award. Their recent shows include: ‘Private Archive’ at Raster Gallery, in Warsaw; Karlskorona Konsthall, Karlskorona, Sweden; Polnisches Institut, Duesseldorf; Polnisches Institut, Berlin; La Triennale, Palais de Tokyo, Paris; and Robert Mann Gallery, New York. They live and work in Warsaw.