The work of the two artists, Mariola Wawrzusiak and Beata Zuba, is related by a similar sensitivity, the need for a close relationship with nature and – although expressed in different media – a comparable austerity of form. Listening here becomes not only a straining
of the senses, but is at the same time an attitude of attentive listening to oneself. Contemplating nature – especially when staying in places far away from civilisation, in forests unspoilt by human influence or on little-used mountain trails, creates a new, existentially friendly space. It fosters reflection on the natural rhythm of life and helps to effectively offset the time pressure
that causes discomfort.
Mariola Wawrzusiak obtains the material for the world of wild, often oversized animals she has been creating for many years from post-industrial sites and scrap yards. Iron sculptures welded from fragments of rusted machinery or unnecessary tools, on the one hand, can enrapture,
and on the other, they can terrify with their “untamed,” predatory form.
Beata Zuba’s paintings, on the other hand – at first glance – irrepressible, diverse in their painterly structure, become ordered once the proper distance is maintained from them, creating almost realistic depictions of monumental mountain slopes. They are completely devoid of human presence, or any sign of life at all. By definition, her painting is autobiographical – the artist paints a landscape of her personal stories and feelings rather than actual views of nature.
Danuta Pałys
The Exhibition Listening. Mariola Wawrzusiak – Sculpture. Beata Zuba – Painting at the Municipal Gallery bwa in Bydgoszcz is accompanied by presentation of a documentary by Rafał Małecki – “Rdza” (Rust), which is a portrait of the sculptor Mariola Wawrzusiak-Borcz.
curator: Danuta Pałys
during the vernissage – a concert:
Katarzyna Wesołowska – harpsichord, Sławomir Drózd – flute
works: Monika Sroczyńska – Sequences for flute traverso solo (composed in 2021); Aleksandra Brejza – Stoccatina – Toccatina perduta for harpsichord solo (composed in 2025); Aleksandra Brejza – Sarabanda for flute and harpsichord (composed in 2025 – premiere)
Mariola Wawrzusiak was born in Rzeszów in 1971. Studied at the Department of Sculpture of the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków from 1992 to 1997. Diploma with honours in the studio of
Prof. Józef Sękowski. Associate Professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków, Faculty of Sculpture.
She runs a drawing studio for students of years 2nd–5th. She received a scholarship from the Cultural City Network Graz (1998), and a scholarship from the City of Kraków (1999).
Scholarship of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage (2000).
Solo exhibitions:
1998 – “Debiut” (Début), Dziennik Polski Gallery,Kraków
19998 – exhibition titled “Psy i pieski” (Dogs and Doggies), together with Rafał Borcz
2002 – an exhibition of sculpture and drawings “Zdarzenie” (Event), ZiF Zentrum fur Intedisziplinare Forschung, Bielefeld, Germany.
2002 – an exhibition “Psi odjazd” (Dog Departure), together with Rafał Borcz, Nizio Gallery,Warszawa
2006 – an exhibition “Wilk” (Wolf), together with Rafał Borcz, Galeria Bielska BWA
2007 – an exhibition “Wilk”, Austrian Consulate General, Kraków
2008 – an exhibition “Ludzkie i zwierzęce” (Human and animal), together with Rafał Borcz, SAPiK, Szczecinek
2011 – an exhibition “Instynkt” (Instinct), BWA Sieradz
2012 – an exhibition “Relacje” (Relationships), Centre of Contemporary Art “Solvay”, Kraków
2012 – an exhibition “Więzi i sploty” (Ties and entanglements), Municipal Art Gallery, Częstochowa
2013 – an exhibition “W cieniu człowieka” (In the Shadow of Human), Cztery ściany Gallery, Kraków
2014 – an exhibition “Dzikie” (Wild), BWA Sanok.
2015 – sculpture exhibition, exhibition hall of the Association for Promotion of Culture and the Arts “Pogranicze” TOTU, Rzeszów
2016 – an exhibition “Habitaty” (Habitats) BWA Rzeszów
2016 – an exhibition “Interior” together with Barbara Hubert, ZPAP Gallery, Rzeszów
2016 – a sculpture exhibition accompanying the 70th anniversary of the Foundry Institute in Kraków
2016 – an exhibition “Trzeci poziom zagrożenia” (The Third Level of Threat), Vlask Gallery, Ghent, Belgium.
2017 – “Zwierzęta domowe” (Pets), Gallery of Modern Art in Włocławek.
2017 – Refugium,Gallery of Modern Art Chłodna 20, Suwałki.
2018 – “Bestiarium” (Bestiary), Concordia Design/Bałtyk, Poznań.
2018 – “Bestiarium 2.0” (Bestiary 2.0), SWPS University, Warszawa.
2018 – Dark Forest, Veghel, the Netherlands.
2018 – an exhibition together with Rafał Borcz “Tam gdzie sowy śpią” (Where the Owls Sleep), BWA Olsztyn.
2018 – “Już nie zaśniesz spokojnie” (You Won’t Sleep Soundly Anymore), Exstravagance Gallery, Sosnowiec.
2019 – “Zapytaj zwierząt” (Ask the Animals), Przegorzały Castle
2019 – “Biosfera” (Biosphere), Gallery R of the Faculty of Sculpture of the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków
2019 – Apparent Silence, Vlask Gallery Gent, Belgium.
2019 – “W moim ogrodzie” (In My Garden), exhibition accompanying the symposium GAP Rytro
2022 – an exhibition “Granica” (Border), CSW Elektrownia Radom.
2023 – “Farba i Rdza” (Paint and Rust), sculpture by Mariola Wawrzusiak/painting by Kamil Stańczak.
2023 – “Inspiracje Picassem” (Inspired by Picasso), together with Dariusz Vasina, Ogród Sztuki, Kraków
2023 – “Sublimacje” (Sublimations), together with Kamil Stańczak, Stalowa Gallery, Warszawa
2024 – Infinitum Stratos Office Centre, Warszawa
2025 – “Mechanizm cienia” (Shadow Mechanism), Apart Hotel, Kraków
Group exhibitions:
1993–2025 Galeria BWA Kraków,PWST Kraków, Seprais, Switzerland, “18 Artist-18 Cities”, Graz, Ljubljana, Maribor, Bratislava, Sarajevo, Mostar, Brno, “Unique sign-Unique Location”, Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Graz (Austria). “Pracownia rzeźby prof.Józefa Sękowskiego” (Sculpture workshop of Prof. Józef Sękowski), Art Palace, Kraków, Young Visual Arts Salon “Egeria”, BWA Ostrów Wielkopolski, “Myśl; Zwierzę” (Thought; Animal), Stary Browar, Wrocław. Sculpture Triennial “Wrażliwość” (Sensitivity), Zamek Culture Centre, Poznań, an exhibition “Młodzi pedagodzy Wydziału Rzeźby krakowskiej ASP” (Young pedagogues of the Faculty of Sculpture of the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków), Gallery of the Salt Mine in Wieliczka, “Bracia nasi mniejsi” (Our lesser brothers), Krypta u Pijarów gallery, Kraków, “Nova” gallery in Ostrava, “Alte Schiebekammer” gallery, Vienna, Centre of Modern Art “Solvay”, Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków, ASP Gallery, “Identity”, railway depots, Kraków, ornithological exhibition Kraków Art Week, “Twórczy dotyk III” (Creative Touch III), “Giganci Współczesnej Rzeźby” (Giants of Contemporary Sculpture), Jeżynieckie Centrum Kultury, Stara Prochownia, Poznań, Biosfera IMO Gallery, Stary Sącz
• 1998 – Scholarship of Cultural City Network, Graz
• 1999 – Scholarship of the City of Kraków;
• 2000 – Scholarship of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage
2009 – Cooperation with Wox company
Beata Zuba – has always been connected with Kraków, graduated from the Faculty of Painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków. Diploma in the atelier of Prof. Leszek Misiak and Teresa Kotkowska-Rzepecka, annex to the diploma in the 1st Interdisciplinary Studio under the direction of Prof. Zbigniew Bajek.
She graduated from the Pedagogical College by writing a thesis on art therapy – ‘Interpretation of the self through colour.’
She works in painting, drawing and photography, and is active in the Kraków Association for Psychiatry and Art. Member of the Kraków branch of the Association of the Polish Visual Artists, grant-holder of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, Promotion of Polish Culture in the World grant, and Nishieda Foundation in 2021. In 2023, she received the Scholarship of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage. Finalist for the Eibisch Prize and the City Art Gallery Zakopane Competition – My Mountains. She cooperates with the Villa Decius Institute of Culture, where she gives lectures in the series “What does the painter see behind the painting?” and with the Villa Decius Association, conducting painting classes and museum meetings, for which she was nominated for Personality of the Year 2022 by Gazeta Krakowska and Dziennik Krakowski. For her work in the arts and education, she was nominated for the prestigious Forbes Women Magazine 50/50 list in 2024.
She has held 19 solo exhibitions and participated in many group exhibitions. Since 2018, he has been tackling the theme of MOUNTAINS in his paintings, creating the multi-faceted project PERMEATING THE MOUNTAIN. Her paintings are on permanent display at the Reinhold Messner House in Sexten, Dolomites.
In 2021, she exhibited her works at two exhibitions in Japan at the invitation of the Nishieda Foundation “Mountain: Adoration and Fear to the Another Universe” Zuiun-an and at the Tatsuno Art Scene Art Festival, exhibition “Mountain Wander and Fear.” In 2023, at the invitation of Director Bogna Dziechciaruk-Maj, under the curatorial supervision of Dr Anna Król, she organised a solo exhibition, Permeating the Mountain, at the Manggha Museum of Japanese Art and Technology. It was an interdisciplinary project (individual painting exhibition in the Europe Far East Pavilion together with a site-specific installation, presentations of works in the Manggha gardens and activities at Kościuszko Mound, where for the first time in the history of the Mound a large 130m2 Mountain Flag was hung on the Japanese Mountain Festival).
In 2024, at the invitation of the Kościusko Mound Committee, the artist organised a multidisciplinary authorial project …TRANSFORMATION OF MOUNTAIN 330…, which took place under the Honorary Patronage of the Embassy of Japan in Poland. In addition to a large individual exhibition, viewers had a chance to participate in a series of author meetings, lectures, workshops and attend a Sinfonietta Cracovia Concert.
In 2025, the author’s paintings were exhibited in the Polish Parliament at the “Medyna” exhibition organised by the Tunisian Embassy in Poland to mark the 30th anniversary of the Tunisia–EU Association Agreement and the 66th anniversary of the beginning of economic cooperation between Poland and Tunisia.
She also presents her projects at conferences: internationally in Poland (e.g. MOCAK Museum of Contemporary Art – Krakow) and abroad at the World Art Therapy Congress in Toulouse.
Images from the series “Szeroko zamknięte” (Wide Closed) were shown in Urszula Sochacka’s documentary “Bezimienny” (Nameless) on Operation T4 during the Second World War – The Gardens of Art in Kraków 2015.
She has been involved with the mountains since childhood and was a ski instructor at Ski Ecole International and Ecole de Ski Français in SuperDévoluy in the French Alps. To this day, she actively competes in skiing competitions and has been awarded many times for her results at the Polish Amateur Championships. Loves the MOUNTAINS unreservedly.
Start 02.09.2025, 6pm
20 Gdańska St.
End 26.10.2025
