SCULPTURE BEYOND THE SOLID
The exhibition presents contemporary sculptural practices that take the loss of formal stability as their point of departure – understood not as a metaphor for crisis or a prelude to catastrophe, but as a source of creative tension. What was once considered the goal of sculptural practice – permanence, closure, and the perfection of the finished work – now seems insufficient. In a world where the ground is giving way, sculpture does not pretend to be a foundation. Form does not disappear, but becomes a temporary configuration of processes, tensions, and relations.
The exhibition brings together works by artists who approach sculpture as a system of forces: flows and transformations, tensions and dependencies between process and mass. References to biological forms and the human body draw attention to sculpture as an impermanent structure, susceptible to pressure, wear, and modification. Fluid transitions between artificial and natural materials, organic shapes and forms inspired by mechanical production highlight the metamorphic potential of matter. Matter is not a passive medium, but bears traces of its origins, uses, and contact with bodies. The exhibition foregrounds these qualities, framing sculpture as a materially situated form of expression within the museum space. The objects engage with the building’s architecture, interact with light and the movement of visitors, and spill into corridors, the staircase, and other common areas. Rather than forming a linear narrative, they create a temporary setting for bodies and objects in motion – a framework for incidental relations.
This shared field of action brings together: Isabelle Andriessen, Patricia Ayres, Olga Balema, Beatrice Bonino, Manuel Burgener, Giulia Cenci, Phoebe Collings-James, June Crespo, Michael Dean, Matyáš Fiala, Zuza Golińska, Alexandra Hunts, Agata Ingarden, Edith Karlson, Kaarel Kurismaa, Mónica Mays, Gizela Mickiewicz, Narges Mohammadi, Anna Myszkowiak, Jack O'Brien, B. Ingrid Olson, Dominika Olszowy, Katarzyna Przezwańska, Jessi Reaves, Ken Sortais, Teresa Solar Abboud, Iza Tarasewicz, Tatiana Trouvé, Kaari Upson, Dominique White, Nicole Wermers.
Their works reinforce the idea of an art whose strength emerges from open-endedness and susceptibility to change. In place of a catastrophic narrative, they propose a generative practice of reorganisation: connecting what has been dispersed, sustaining what is fragile, and creating the conditions for further transformations.
ARTISTS
Isabelle Andriessen
Patricia Ayres
Olga Balema
Beatrice Bonino
Manuel Burgener
Giulia Cenci
Phoebe Collings-James
June Crespo
Michael Dean
Matyáš Fiala
Zuza Golińska
Alexandra Hunts
Agata Ingarden
Edith Karlson
Kaarel Kurismaa
Mónica Mays
Gizela Mickiewicz
Narges Mohammadi
Anna Myszkowiak
Jack O'Brien
B. Ingrid Olson
Dominika Olszowy
Katarzyna Przezwańska
Jessi Reaves
Ken Sortais
Teresa Solar Abboud
Iza Tarasewicz
Tatiana Trouvé
Kaari Upson
Dominique White
Nicole Wermers
Curated by Jagna Lewandowska and Szymon Maliborski
The Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw is a public institution co-managed by the Capital City of Warsaw and the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.
The exhibition was created with the support of the Henry Moore Foundation and the Mondriaan Fund.
Exhibition Partners: Goethe-Institut, British Council, Italian Cultural Institute in Warsaw, Czech Centre Warsaw, Instituto Cervantes in Warsaw, The Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia, Swisslos Kultur Kanton Bern, Kultur Stadt Bern, PKP Intercity.
Strategic Partner of the Museum: Audi
Patron of the Museum and Collection: EY
Education Partner: Czernecki Educational Foundation
Museum Partners: E.ON Polska, Friends of the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw (TPMSN), Puro Hotels
Legal Partner: DZP
Media Partners: Polskie Radio, Polish Press Agency (PAP), Onet, Vogue, Zwierciadło, Wyborcza, Wysokie Obcasy, Tygodnik Powszechny, Pismo.
Opening Reception Partners: MUTEK, Canada Council for the Arts, Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, Unsound.