Abakanowicz. No Rules

April 25 – September 28, 2025

The Abakanowicz. No Rules exhibition held in the Wawel Royal Gardens showcases the artist's work in a new and non-obvious manner, departing from the conventional way of presenting Magdalena Abakanowicz's pieces, which are usually displayed in galleries and park spaces.

The sculptures made of bronze – a material more durable and lasting than life itself - surrounded by the greenery of the Wawel Castle gardens, emerge from among the oleanders, looking pensive against the backdrop of the ramparts, almost floating into the sky. Similar pieces placed in groups or standing on their own silently take over and occupy the area of the hill, thus reshaping it as a place of contemplation, escapism and oblivion.

The juxtaposition of early art, Renaissance architecture, the castle garden and the works by one of the most prominent Polish sculptors of the 20th century opens up new possibilities for interpreting her oeuvre. It presents the figures to contemporary audiences, so that they can interact with them in this extraordinary environment and see them through the prism of their own experiences and sensations. The artist herself defined her own identity through her relationship with the artwork, other people and the way they perceived the sculptures and fabrics.

Magdalena Abakanowicz's sculptural work surprises the viewer with the tension between the familiar and the unknown - the similarity of her sculptures to the human body and their scale, the way they are presented, simplification and defragmentation. Her works represent a belief in the possibility of displaying that what remains hidden. The viewer is challenged to build a new relationship with the artworks and the space in which they are displayed in order to come to terms with the artistic intention and to open up to their own sensibility and experiences of place, art and the moment.

‘Blending into the surroundings enables us to experience the importance of the human imagination in the context of the wisdom of nature. It is an encounter of two strange forces. Nature does not aspire to creating art. We do,’ Abakanowicz stated in her article Meditations – The Space for Contemplation (Konteksty. Polska Sztuka Ludowa, 2006, no. 3–4, p. 137), asking the question and immediately providing an answer: ‘What is the significance of human creativity vis-à-vis the rules of nature? It is an encounter of two realities that gives rise to the tension that we are exploring. Imagination cannot be analysed. Its power cannot be quantified. It is at the very outset of any creative process in science and art. Doubts and uncertainties stimulate our imagination. They led us to ourselves and the Universe. They are what makes us resort to the metaphorical language of form and colour to define our lived reality.