Polish Design Season: A collective of young Polish designers presented the Polska Folk exhibition as part of
Tent London during the
London Design Festival last month. The exhibition, curated by Agnieszka Jacobson-Cielecka, included furniture, lighting, graphics, products and architecture influenced by traditional Polish folk patterns and craft techniques.
Kafti Design work with local manufacturers and Polish companies to produce their lights, such as the Estrella lamp (second image) and the Moth lamp (third image), both made from polypropylene.
Here’s some info about the exhibition:
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Polska FOLK
Young Polish designers will exhibit as part of the London Design Festival. At Tent London, a group of young Polish designers will present a show as part of POLSKA! YEAR. Polska FOLK will present a series of new designs that illustrate the influence of folk motifs and techniques on contemporary Polish design, decorative arts and architecture. It is an attempt to provide a synopsis and gather in one place a selection of works inspired by folk art and crafts, form, materials, ornament, technical solutions and poetic folklore. It will be among the first comprehensive presentations of Polish contemporary design in the UK. The invitation for Polish artists to take part in the festival shows that contemporary Polish design, well rooted in Poland’s heritage and cultural diversity, may be attractive to a sophisticated European audience. The traditional patterns used in Polish decorative arts make Polish design unique.
Materials and local crafts say a lot about Polish tradition and background. As a result of this, Polish design has a clear identity and meaning while being at the same time a part of the European design mainstream. This is confirmed by the international awards won by some of the works exhibited here.
Polska FOLK will present products manufactured in limited editions, one-off designs and prototypes, designs waiting to be discovered as well as a selection of well known Polish designs. Some of the exhibits presented have already achieved international acclaim, while others are still waiting for their turn. All of them deserve to be appreciated not only by the art connoisseurs but also by the public at large.
“Coming back to our roots and traditional techniques of production has been a strong trend in the last decade, not only in Poland but in all of Europe. It’s about looking for your own identity, diversity and uniqueness, coming back to the local and regional at the time of globalization and mass media. This phenomenon can be observed not only in industrial design – but also in fashion, music and cuisine” – says the curator of the exhibition, Agnieszka Jacobson-Cielecka – “At the exhibition, we present the most interesting works inspired by Polish culture and crafts, especially by their simple folk roots. The artists are fascinated by rural ornamental motifs – laces, colourful stripe patterns, paper cuts, aprons, traditional forms and natural materials. However, they look at their heritage with irony and humour, with no excessive solemnity. The exhibition presents achievements of designers belonging to the 30-something generation. This is the most interesting group of Polish designers. Educated after the transformation in Poland, the majority of them also produce and promote their own work. The common features of the selected objects are, most of all, the emotion and humour they display.”
The exhibition will show work from: Malafor, Joanna Rusin and Agnieszka Czop, Aze Design, Agnieszka Lasota, Platform, Chrum, Kafti, Bogdan Kosak, GOGO as well as the architectural design of the Polish pavilion for the EXPO 2010.
Polska FOLK is organised by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute in Warsaw and the Regional Museum in Stalowa Wola (Poland), with the support of the city of Stalowa Wola.
Curator of the exhibition: Agnieszka Jacobson-Cielecka
