Wawel Oneiricon
20 November, 2026–28 February, 2027
This will be a glimpse of Wawel – between dream and reality. Wawel Oneiricon is an artistic intervention by Małgorzata Stachurska, an artist and art conservator who has been working at the Painting Workshop of the Royal Castle in Wawel for many years. Her works reimagine well-known spaces, works of art, and symbols of the royal residence, imbuing them with an unexpected, dreamlike quality. The works on display were inspired by e.g. the Armoury, the Crown Treasury, the Wawel leather wallpapers, and the Renaissance ceiling medallions. Porcelain pugs and monkeys, elements of royal armour, the flames from Jan III Sobieski’s coronation cloak, and the fantastical creatures from the Last Judgement by a follower of Hieronymus Bosch appear in the artist’s prints in new contexts. Stachurska does not document Wawel directly, but extracts details, ornaments, figures, and symbols, which she later transforms into a personal, visual lexicon of motifs, forms, and associations.
The prints have been arranged in various spaces within the Castle, amongst the objects that have served as a source of inspiration for the artist. This allows the viewer to discover connections between the contemporary work and its historical prototype. In the Armoury, visitors will also be able to see the copper plates for the works Constellation and The Hunt, revealing the material and technical dimensions of printmaking.
The display also offers an insight into Małgorzata Stachurska’s working methods, as she combines her experience as a conservator with her own creative practice. The artist employs traditional printmaking techniques such as etching, aquatint, and mezzotint. These require precision, patience, and meticulous work with the metal plate, from which the image gradually emerges.
Wawel Oneiricon is an encounter between contemporary art and the art of the past. It does not lead along a single path of interpretation, but encourages careful observation, the search for hidden meanings, and the discovery of one’s own associations. It is an invitation to view Wawel from a different perspective: as a place where historical heritage meets the imagination, and well-known works reveal a less obvious side.
Curator: Justyna Osuch
This will be a glimpse of Wawel – between dream and reality. Wawel Oneiricon is an artistic intervention by Małgorzata Stachurska, an artist and art conservator who has been working at the Painting Workshop of the Royal Castle in Wawel for many years. Her works reimagine well-known spaces, works of art, and symbols of the royal residence, imbuing them with an unexpected, dreamlike quality. The works on display were inspired by e.g. the Armoury, the Crown Treasury, the Wawel leather wallpapers, and the Renaissance ceiling medallions. Porcelain pugs and monkeys, elements of royal armour, the flames from Jan III Sobieski’s coronation cloak, and the fantastical creatures from the Last Judgement by a follower of Hieronymus Bosch appear in the artist’s prints in new contexts. Stachurska does not document Wawel directly, but extracts details, ornaments, figures, and symbols, which she later transforms into a personal, visual lexicon of motifs, forms, and associations.
The prints have been arranged in various spaces within the Castle, amongst the objects that have served as a source of inspiration for the artist. This allows the viewer to discover connections between the contemporary work and its historical prototype. In the Armoury, visitors will also be able to see the copper plates for the works Constellation and The Hunt, revealing the material and technical dimensions of printmaking.
The display also offers an insight into Małgorzata Stachurska’s working methods, as she combines her experience as a conservator with her own creative practice. The artist employs traditional printmaking techniques such as etching, aquatint, and mezzotint. These require precision, patience, and meticulous work with the metal plate, from which the image gradually emerges.
Wawel Oneiricon is an encounter between contemporary art and the art of the past. It does not lead along a single path of interpretation, but encourages careful observation, the search for hidden meanings, and the discovery of one’s own associations. It is an invitation to view Wawel from a different perspective: as a place where historical heritage meets the imagination, and well-known works reveal a less obvious side.
Curator: Justyna Osuch