On behalf of the Technical-Artistic Academy of Applied Sciences in Warsaw (formerly WSEiZ) and the curators of the exhibition, Prof. Dr. Hab. Przemysław Krajewski and Dr. Hab. Anna Plewka, we invite you to the opening of the exhibition dedicated to the presentation of selected photograms created during the artistic plein air at the Railway Museum in Chabówka. This plein air was an integral part of the scientific-artistic conference titled 'A Special Element in the Environment – Interactions,' which took place from September 20-23, 2023, in Zakopane – Kościelisko.

The opening will take place on November 8 this year from 14:00 to 17:00 at the Educational Pavilion Kamień, at 1 Wybrzeże Puckie Street in Warsaw.

The exhibition can be viewed daily until November 28 this year during the pavilion's opening hours (10:00-18:00).

As described by Prof. Dr. Hab. Przemysław Krajewski:

'In the 'Domestic and Economic Calendar for the Ordinary Year 1845, we can read among other things; 'The parochód, like a horse, is used for pulling. /… The parochód, traveling on the railway / … / carries passengers at a speed of approximately 6 miles per hour.

This information refers to the time of the appearance of the first railway line in the lands of Poland. The subject of our artistic activities was the historical railway transport objects gathered in the area of the former locomotive depot in Chabówka, which now serves as a museum.

The selection of photographs included in the exhibition constitutes, in our opinion, a collection of the most interesting artistic achievements. They present various, characteristic ways of looking at the historical railway transport objects gathered in the museum, which, along with the surrounding landscape, provided sources of creative inspiration for the photographers.

Entering the museum, we begin to experience an extremely strong emotional interaction with time. The tight rows of dozens of standing locomotives and carriages on the tracks evoke an irresistible impression of a gigantic prop room. The ubiquitous rust and layers of peeling paint covering the metal surfaces create a rather depressing impression of abandonment and forgetfulness. Climbing up the metal ladders into the interiors of the locomotives, we admire dozens of instruments, knobs, manometers, levers, and handles with archaic geometric shapes. By photographing, we capture the image of a passing world; we build new artistic values, seeking hidden beauty in the material subjected to the destruction of passing time.

Perhaps it is worth noting a few different paths of artistic exploration that appeared in the collection of photographs presented at the exhibition:

– The introduction of a contemporary aesthetic narrative built by exposing the visually attractive form of historical technical detail.

– The conscious exposure of the role and properties of light in creating a unique atmosphere of the interior space.

– The recording of mutual connections, which are in varying degrees of destruction of technical objects with the surrounding living nature.

– Composing photographic frames treated as refined coloristic painting materials.

– Building graphic aesthetic minimalism through the use of black-and-white photographic technique.

The sum of artistic achievements collected in the form of photograms at the exhibition constitutes a unique record of a peculiar journey through time that has faded into oblivion. At the same time, it is also a record of the interactions occurring between it and the reality surrounding us.”

The authors of the photographs presented at the exhibition are: Dr. Agnieszka Marczewska, Prof. ATA, Eng. Alicja Śniadach, Dr. Hab. Anna Plewka, Mgr Barbara Jaworska-Księżak, Dr. Eng. Bogdan Gorczyca, Prof. ATA, Dr. of Fine Arts Dorota Zych-Charaziak, Prof. ATA, Dr. Eng. Arch. Elżbieta Błeszyńska, Mgr Eng. Jakub Botwina, Dr. Hab. Eng. Jan Łukaszkiewicz, Dr. Eng. Jerzy Wojtatowicz, Prof. ATA, Dr. Jolanta Kapecka, Dr. of Arts Julia Karłowska, Dr. Eng. Lidia Ozimkowska, Prof. ATA, Prof. Dr. Hab. Lucjan Kasprzak, Dr. Hab. Maciej Konopka, Prof. ATA, Maksymilian Markowski, Dr. of Fine Arts Maria Komorowska, Prof. ATA, Sławomir Markowski, Prof. Dr. Hab. Przemysław Krajewski, Mgr of Arts Urszula Wodnicka-Kasprzak, Dr. of Arts Zuzanna Krasuska.