Pawel Althamer
Encyclopedia
Paweł Althamer is a contemporary Polish
sculptor, collaborative artist, and creator of installations and video art. In 2000 he participated in Manifesta
3 in Ljubljana
, Slovenia
. He won the Vincent Award
in 2004. In 2007 he presented the exhibition One of many with the Nicola Trussardi Foundation
.
His longest-running collaboration is with the Nowolipie Group, an organisation in Warsaw for adults with mental or physical disabilities, to whom he has been teaching a Friday night ceramics class since the early 1990s. In 2008 Althamer arranged for the group to wear matching overalls and take a trip on a biplane, which became the subject of a short film by Althamer’s frequent collaborator, Artur Żmijewski (Winged, 2008).
Althamer was part of the so-called Kowalski Studio at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts, along with many of today’s leading generation of Polish artists, including Artur Żmijewski and Katarzyna Kozyra. Under the working title ‘Common Space—Private Space’, Kowalski foregrounded the work of art as an effect of complex non-verbal communication performed by artists in interaction with each other, neutralising individualism: ‘each of the participants had at his/her disposal “a space of their own” […], where they could build elements of their own visual language, and the “common space” open to everyone, where they could conduct simultaneous dialogues with the other participants. All without using words.’
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
sculptor, collaborative artist, and creator of installations and video art. In 2000 he participated in Manifesta
Manifesta
Manifesta, the , is a European pan-regional contemporary cultural biennale, described in 2010 by the as "stunning in its scope and uncompromisingly experimental in its approach".-Manifesta History:...
3 in Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
, Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
. He won the Vincent Award
Vincent Award
The Vincent Award is awarded every two years to a European artist that judges believe "will have significant, enduring impact on contemporary art."...
in 2004. In 2007 he presented the exhibition One of many with the Nicola Trussardi Foundation
Nicola Trussardi Foundation
The Nicola Trussardi Foundation is a non-profit institution for the promotion of contemporary art and culture. Created in 1996, the Nicola Trussardi Foundation is neither a museum nor a collection...
.
His longest-running collaboration is with the Nowolipie Group, an organisation in Warsaw for adults with mental or physical disabilities, to whom he has been teaching a Friday night ceramics class since the early 1990s. In 2008 Althamer arranged for the group to wear matching overalls and take a trip on a biplane, which became the subject of a short film by Althamer’s frequent collaborator, Artur Żmijewski (Winged, 2008).
Althamer was part of the so-called Kowalski Studio at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts, along with many of today’s leading generation of Polish artists, including Artur Żmijewski and Katarzyna Kozyra. Under the working title ‘Common Space—Private Space’, Kowalski foregrounded the work of art as an effect of complex non-verbal communication performed by artists in interaction with each other, neutralising individualism: ‘each of the participants had at his/her disposal “a space of their own” […], where they could build elements of their own visual language, and the “common space” open to everyone, where they could conduct simultaneous dialogues with the other participants. All without using words.’
Further reading
- Paula Van Den Bosch and others, Pawel Althamer: The Vincent Award 2004, Hatje Cantz (2005) ISBN 3775715568
- Pawel Althamer: Espace 315, Centre Georges Pompidou Service Commercial (2006), ISBN 2844263038 - see also http://www.centrepompidou.fr/Pompidou/Manifs.nsf/AllExpositions/775CB758200201D5C125710900369F0D?OpenDocument&sessionM=2.10&L=2
- "Common Task", Pawel Althamer, Modern Art Oxford, December 2009,edited by Susanne Cotter, co-edited and designed by Åbäke, printed in Brodno, Poland.
- Claire Bishop, "Something for Everyone: The Art of Pawel Althamer’, Artforum, February, pp.175-181.