Jadwiga Maziarska
Jadwiga Maziarska (born 1913 in Sosnowiec, died 2003 in Krakow) was one of Poland's most prominent avant-garde artists, associated with matter painting and abstraction. She graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow in 1939. After World War II, she joined the Young Artists Group, and from 1957, she was a member of the re-established Krakow Group alongside artists like Tadeusz Kantor. She also participated in the groundbreaking First Exhibition of Modern Art in Krakow in 1948.
Maziarska's artistic output is distinguished by her exploration of structure and texture, blending material experimentation with the affective dimensions of art. Her works often straddle the boundary between chaos and order, delving into the interplay between the microcosm and the macrocosm. In the 1950s, she was among the first Polish artists to use a technique combining oil and wax, elevating matter painting to a new, sophisticated level. In 2001, she was awarded the Jan Cybis Prize for her lifetime achievements.
Selected solo exhibitions:
2018 Jadwiga Maziarska: How Should I Answer You?, Piekary Gallery, Poznań
2012 The Goddess of Irresponsibility, Zderzak Gallery, Warsaw
2009 Atlas of the Imaginary, CSW Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw
2008 Galerie Johnen, Berlin
2008 Contemporary Art Centre Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw
2002 Exhibition of Paintings by Jadwiga Maziarska – Winner of the J. Cybis Award for 2001 (combined with the Warsaw Painting Review featuring J. Cybis Award Winners), DAP Gallery, Warsaw, Poland
1998 Jadwiga Maziarska. Planes of Space, Spaces of the Plane. Paintings from 1946-1991, Jadwiga Maziarska – Jerzy Nowosielski, Gallery at the Jesuits, Poznań
1998 Jadwiga Maziarska – Jerzy Nowosielski, Gallery at the Jesuits, Poznań
1994 New Paintings, Zderzak Gallery, Cracow
1991 Krzysztofory Gallery, Cracow
1984 Studio Gallery, Warsaw
1957 Jadwiga Maziarska: Paintings, Kordegarda Gallery, Warsaw
Selected group exhibitions:
2023/24 The Art of Seeing. Nowosielski and others, Royal Castle, Warsaw
2012 Parallel Arrangements. Gego/Maziarska/Trockel, Art Stations gallery, Stary Browar, Poznań
2009 Collection of Events. Art Exists Beyond the Image… from the Collection of Dariusz Bieńkowski, Atlas Sztuki, Łódź
1988 Geometry as Metaphor, Budapest Gallery, Budapest
1985 Four Women Artists from Eastern Europe. Posters, Prints and Drawings by Barbel Bohley, Teresa Murak, Jadwiga Maziarska, Maria Waśko, Battersea Arts Centre, London
1985 Ten Years 1975-1985, The Pavilion, Leeds
1969 Group Exhibition at Gallery d’Arte Cortina
1957 Group Exhibition of the Zagłębie Group
1959 Group Exhibition of Modern Art at Zachęta, Warsaw
1957 Group Exhibition of the Zagłębie Group
1946 Group Exhibition of Young Artists in Cracow