THE PATH

This structure, representing the path traversing life, is made of light and paper and is born of memories, perceptions and consciousness. At first The Path is organized in regulated angularity. The twisted strands fall downward in layers, touched with light. Like human skin, they flake off to reveal the more tender layers beneath. At the midpoint there is an upheaval—an upside down world where strands caress the body enveloping it in an embrace, a loving touch. In the final space, the strands fall severely to the ground like disciplined reflections of quiet thought. Wandering on this path leads to certainty about the order of existence and immortality.

Angiola Churchill
June 2004

The Łódź Biennale

October 2-31, 2004

1st International Biennale Lodz was founded in 1820 upon a decision of the authorities of the Kingdom of Poland to transform a village of around 800 inhabitants into an industrial town - "a city of factories". Soon Lodz became an important industrial center and, by the beginning of World War II, a vibrant and rich European metropolis with over half million citizens, where a cross-cultural religious life, mostly of Poles, Germans, Jews and Russians, played an important role.

Lodz was always a place of important artistic activities: at the very beginning of 1930s one of the first in the world collection of works of modern art was founded by a group of constructivist artists, among them Wladyslaw Strzeminski, Katarzyna Kobro, Henryk Stazewski. With this collection of avant-garde works, one of the earliest in Europe, a Muzeum Sztuki (Museum of Art) was established. After the war, during the 50s, 60s and 70s, many well-known film makers, among them Roman Polanski, Krzysztof Kieslowski, the radical avant-garde group "Workshop" and many others, came out of Lodz Film Academy.

In 1981 Lodz became a site of a large international exhibition of minimal and conceptual art initiated by Ryszard Wasko and entitled Construction in Process. This exhibition, comprised of site specific works by more than 50 international artists, curated and organized by artists, and supported by the Solidarity movement. Construction in Process took place at vacant industrial sites in the city.

The first edition of Lodz Biennale is based upon ideas developed during Construction in Process exhibitions - that of priority of process and dialogue over product. One of the main goals for this edition of Lodz Biennale is to present a challenging international exhibition where all works will be made exclusively for this project. The Biennale will provide the terrain of the exhibition and also, importantly, a terrain of opportunity to meet other artists to encourage a direct artists' dialogue.

The opening of the Lodz Biennale will be held on October 2, 2004 and the exhibition will be on view through October 31, 2004.

The international Biennale will take place at the UNIONTEX buildings (previously a textile factory), which will also house administrative offices and an educational center sponsored by the Whitney Museum.

participating artists:
Polly Apfelbaum (USA), Yuri Avvakumov (Russia), Maja Bajevic (Bosnia Harzegovina), Gerda Meyer Bernstein (USA), Xu Bing (China/USA), Janet Cardiff & George Bures Miller (Canada), Michelle Charles (UK), Angiola Churchill (USA), Shane Cullen & John Buckley (Ireland), Tara Donovan (USA), Maria Eichhorn (Germany), Ming Fay (China/USA), Charles Ginnever (USA), Malcolm Green (Germany), Pearl Hirshfield (USA), Fred Holland (USA), IRWIN group (Slovenia), Bethany Izard (USA), Elzbieta Jablonska (Poland), Victor Kegli (Germany), Laura Kikauka (Canada/Germany), Samm Kunce (USA), Tadaaki Kuwayama (Japan/USA), Richard Long (UK), Slawomir Marzec (Poland), Alain Arias Misson (France), Kazuko Miyamoto (Japan/USA), Ann Noel (UK), Debra Pearlman (USA), Karina Peisajovich (Argentina), Marjetica Potrc (Slovenia), Joanna Rajkowska (Poland), Egle Rakauskaite (Lithuania), Jungwook Grace Rim (Korea/USA), Mimmo Roselli (Italy), Ursula von Rydingsvard (USA), Karin Sander (Germany), Markus Schinwald (Austria/Germany), Claudia Schmacke (Germany), Kim Schoenstadt (USA), Nedko Solakov (Bulgaria), Sook Jin Jo (USA/Korea), Kim Sooja (Korea/USA), Nancy Spero (USA)/ Helene Aylon (USA), Kunie Sugiura (Japan/USA), Nanae Suzuki (Germany/Japan), Todosijevic Dragoljub Rasa (Serbia and Montenegro), Micha Ullman (Israel), Anton Vidokle & Cristian Manzutto (Russia/USA + Italy/Colombia), Jan Voss (Holland), Kirsten V. T. Weiner (USA), Hong-wen Lin (Taiwan), Christopher Williams (USA)

Curated by an international selections committee:
Zdenka Badovinac, Leon Golub, Robert C. Morgan, Anda Rottenberg, Won Il-Rhee, Gregory Volk, Lilly Wei, Lawrence Weiner, Emmett Williams

Biennale of Polish Art in Lodz: The Palimpsest Museum
Aneta Szylak, Artistic Director

The Palimpsest Museum is an exhibition 'written over' the existing 'text' of the Museum of the History of Lodz as palimpsest writes over the first texts on parchment. Though the layers of text and time hinder easy understanding, it happens that unexpected relations between the older and the chronologically newer appear.

Participating artists:
AZORRO group, Rafal Bujnowski, Roman Dziadkiewicz, Marek Glinkowski, Aneta Grzeszykowska & Jan Smaga, Izabella Gustowska , Elzbieta Jablonska, Katarzyna Jozefowicz, Agnieszka Kalinowska, Grzegorz Klaman, Jaroslaw Kozakiewicz, Kamil Kuskowski, Robert Kusmirowski, Leszek Lewandowski, Hanna Nowicka-Grochal, Leszek Przyjemski, Jan Simon, Christian Tomaszewski, Andrzej K. Urbanski & Mira Boczniowicz, Anna Witkowska, Ryszard Wasko, Julita Wojcik, Karolina Wysocka, Wojciech Zasadni

Lodz city Biennale - Within Four Walls
Curated by: Grzegorz Musial

Within Four Walls show will be located in a XIX century apartment house, where the tenants run their every-day lives. The empty apartments left by the people once living in them could be said to be a "found space", not sterile and indifferent like that of a Gallery space. This "found space" could determine or provoke one in a positive sense. It bears a potential of emotions connected with our private lives and with the lives of the anonymous former inhabitants.

Participating artists:
Malgorzata Borek, Krzysztof Cichosz, Agnieszka Chojnacka, Katarzyna Cholewa, Artur Chrzanowski, Teodor Durski, Aleksandra Kucinska, Adam Klimczak, Kamil Kuskowski, Konrad Kuzyszyn, Wojciech Leder, Tomasz Matuszak, Magda Moskwa, Lukasz Ogorek, Anna Orlikowska, Mariusz Soltysik

The Lodz Biennale is organized by IAM - International Artists' Museum in Lodz
The Biennale is sponsored by the Minister of Culture, Waldemar Dabrowski and the President of lodz, Jerzy Kropiwnicki, and the Marshall of lodz, Stanislaw Witaszczyk, Voivodship.