Artists

Weronika Gęsicka, Marta Ćwiklińska

Press release

Marta Ćwiklińska feat. Weronika Gęsicka Opening: 20.08.2026 (Thursday), 6PM Exhibition: 21.08–12.09.2026 Curator: Katarzyna Sagatowska The Playground exhibition by Marta Ćwiklińska is part of the 'New JEDNOSTKA' series, which presents projects by artists emerging on the Polish art scene. The works of Weronika Gęsicka from her 'Fun and Games / CLIFFHANGER' series (2020–2023) serve as a commentary on Ćwiklińska's installation Playground tells a story about childhood marked by hardship and interrupted by experiences that forced premature growing up. The time when lightheartedness suddenly gives way to responsibility, feeling lost, and anxiety. A stage when the desire for childlike play disappears, replaced not by adventures, but by duties and challenges that often surpass what a child is prepared for. The installation is composed of wooden sculptures: a swing, a slide, a carousel, and a rocking horse. Long disused, they have lost their functionality and begun to fall into disrepair. From play equipment, they have become forgotten and neglected fragments of a childhood that ended all too soon. The material used – wood – playsa significant role for the artist, serving as a metaphor for the human psyche. Although extremely durable and sturdy, it is susceptible to decay. Neglected and left without care, it eventually cracks and rots over time. For Ćwiklińska Playground is a site of memory, where she examines old wounds, not all of which have yet healed. The installation is inspired by a carousel by Józef Wilkoń, located in Warsaw's Bielański Forest. The exhibition's annex features a series of collages by Weronika Gesicka from the 'Fun and Games' series, inspired by the artist's personal experience of motherhood. The series belongs to a larger project, 'Cliffhanger', which tries to capture the tensions and fears we face when confronting the outside world. The series forms part of a larger project, 'Cliffhanger', which attempts to capture the tensions and fears wemust face when confronted with the outside world. Reports of successive threats, disasters and rather pessimistic predictions for the future lead us to sense the end of reality as we know it. The exhibition presents two perspectives, that of the child and that of the parent, linked by the fears and anxieties that arise from stepping into new roles and facing the responsibilities that they carry. Accompanying events: – 23.08.2026 (Sunday), 11AM–3PM | wood carving workshops as part of the 'Razem w Jednostce vol. 1' ['Together at Jednostka vol. 1'] project, led by: Marta Ćwiklińśka, Katarzyna Kiełczewska | registration required – 12.09.2026 (Saturday), 6PM | finissage with an artist guided tour Marta Ćwiklińska (b. 2002 in Warsaw, Poland) Visual artist. In her work, she draws inspiration from familiar surroundings, nature, relationships, and own experiences, often incorporating animalistic motifs. Fifth-year student at the Faculty of Sculpture of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. Participant of sculpture symposiums and a representative of Poland at the 50th Sapporo Snow Sculpture Contest in Japan. She is a co-founder of OKRA – a Volunteer Scultpture Collective A, engaged in sculpture, curatorial work, and stage design. Weronika Gęsicka (b. 1984 in Włocławek, Poland) Visual artist. She has created photographic works and installations over the past decade that explore and intentionally complicated our sense of visual histories, evidential knowledge, and shared memories. Photography is the predominant medium of her work and practice – the source, context, material and there solution of her explorations of societal roles, official histories, cultural shifts, and hidden narratives. In her most recent project – 'Encyclopaedia' – she has extended her explorations to AI tools that allow her to go further into the realms of the hypothetical and visually uncertain. She graduated from the Graphics Faculty of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. Gęsicka was nominated for the prestigious Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize 2026. Winner of many awards, including Polityka's Passport 2019 (Paszport Polityki) in the Visual arts category (2020), EMOP Arendt Award (2019), Foam Talent (2017). Her works are exhibited worldwide and can be found in many important collections. The exhibition is part of the second edition of the Kulturalna Jednostka project (2026). Partner: Artesola Gallery