NOTE TIME CHANGE IN SCHEDULE
Due to travel delays, the panel discussion will begin at 4pm, the picnic luncheon will begin at 2pm.
Old Westbury Gardens in collaboration with The Polish Cultural Institute NY, in association with the Art & Balance Foundation of Poland, is pleased to present
“Art must get out of museums and reach the people”
PANEL DISCUSSION, PICNIC LUNCHEON , and CLOSING RECEPTION for
Balance in Nature: Sculptures by Jerzy “Jotka” Kędziora
In response to Jerzy Kędziora’s firm belief that art must be accessible, the panel discussion will examine contemporary figurative sculpture and its role in connection to public space within the art historical narrative, specifically centering around the current exhibit of the artist’s works at Old Westbury Gardens. The artist will elaborate on the intricacies and challenges of the process from concept to creation of his sculptures. Art historical discursive insight will be addressed by the Sculpture Center curator, Sohrab Mohebbi, the recipient of the 2012 Creative Capital | Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Program for the blog presencedocuments. The role and meaning of public art in NYC Parks and public spaces will be discussed by the Deputy Director of Art & Antiquities at NYC Parks, Jennifer Lantzas. The panel will be moderated by an independent curator of modern and contemporary art, Marie-Ève Lafontaine, Managing Director of Arsenal Contemporary NY. Before and after the picnic luncheon and panel, visitors are invited to join for exhibition tours led by the docents of the Old Westbury Gardens Programs.
Perched high above the ground and between trees, Kędziora’s fantastical life-sized sculptures are unique for their ability to remain balanced in mid-air despite being attached at only one or two points. These captivating objects playfully mask the technique’s serious origins. The show features works from a dozen or so years, including Kędziora’s world-acclaimed series of gravity-defying sculptures.Panelists:
REVISED PROGRAM
1:30pm— I Docent-led tour of the exhibit Balance in Nature! Sculptures by Jerzy Jotka Kędziora at the Old Westbury Gardens Programs and Exhibits Director. Approximately 1-hour.
2:00pm — Picnic luncheon begins
2:30pm— II Docent-led tour of the exhibit
4:00pm- 5:30—Panel Discussion “Art must get out of museums and reach the people” followed by Q&A, moderated by Marie-Ève Lafontaine
4:30 pm—III docent-led tour of the exhibit
Registration includes admission to Old Westbury Gardens and meal.
PANELISTS
Jerzy Kędziora has been awarded numerous prizes, presidential awards and honorable mentions in various exhibitions and competitions such as LICC in London, Representational Art in Madrid, or A Sculpture for the City in Lakeland. Since the 1990s, Kędziora has been working on a series of hanging sculptures of balancing figures. Among them is “The Confession,” which won one of Poland’s major sculpture competitions. His works can be found in museums, galleries and governmental institutions, including the Presidential Palace in Warsaw and diplomatic sites in the United States. Recently, the artist was a special guest at Art Basel Miami, ArtExpo New York, Art San Diego, Art Palm Beach, and the Art Biennale in Venice. www.jerzykedziora.com
Jennifer Lantzas is the Deputy Director of Art & Antiquities at NYC Parks. She works with a diverse group of artists, community groups, arts organizations, and government agencies to maintain NYC Parks’ permanent collection of 800 objects, and bring experimental and traditional public art to parks in New York City’s five boroughs. Since she started at NYC Parks in 2009, she has managed over 325 temporary public art installations and organized 50 exhibitions for the Arsenal Gallery in Central Park. Jennifer has her MA in Visual Arts Administration from New York University and a BA in Art History from the University of Maryland. https://www.nycgovparks.org/art-and-antiquities
Marie-Ève Lafontaine, an independent curator of modern and contemporary art, was formerly curator at the Schinkel Pavillon in Berlin and chief curator at TRAFO Center for Contemporary Art in Stettin, Poland. Lafontaine has curated solo exhibitions of artists such as Janet Cardiff, Alicja Kwade, Gilad Ratman and Ari Benjamin Meyers, and was involved in Schinkel Pavillon’s recent critically acclaimed Louise Bourgeois show, “The Empty House” in 2018. In addition to her institutional experience, Lafontaine is a regular contributor to online journals and editor of several solo catalogues of contemporary artists.
Sohrab Mohebbi is a writer and Curator at SculptureCenter. He has he organized solo exhibitions with Banu Cennetoglu, Dave Hullfish Bailey, Tamara Henderson, John Knight, and Falke Pisano among others. Group exhibitions include Searching the Sky for Rain at SculptureCenter; It is obvious from the map co-curated with Thomas Keenan at REDCAT, Los Angeles where he served as associate curator. He received the Tremaine Exhibition Award for the exhibition Hotel Theory and Arts Writers Program for the blog presencedocuments. He holds a BA in photography from Tehran Art University and MA in curatorial studies from Bard College. http://www.sculpture-center.org/about/6870/board-staff
Izabela Gola, Curator of Visual Arts and Design Programming at the Polish Cultural Institute New York
Paul Hunchak, Director of Exhibits and Programs, Old Westbury Gardens
