In my projects, I handle subjects concerning various aspects of memory. They include scientific and pseudo-scientific theories, mnemonics, and various types of distortions. I am also interested in the sole processes of memorizing and forgetting, which – depending on a multitude of factors – constitute the basis for the way we perceive the surrounding reality. The main field of my activity is photography, but I also create objects which function as individual pieces or constitute the base for my images. An important part of my art is working with archive materials from various sources, including stock photos and images found on the Internet, but also police records, and old press photography.
Weronika Gęsicka
Born in 1984 in Włocławek (Poland). A visual artist focused on photography, who also creates objects and artefacts. Her projects explore topics related to memory and the underlying mechanisms. She is also interested in the cultural phenomena that impact contemporary reality and can be exploited for manipulating it. Her art addresses issues linked to interpersonal relationships, growing up and family and social roles assumed by people. She eagerly works with archival materials, including images found accidentally on the internet, but also those from stock photo libraries, police archives, and the press.
She graduated from the Graphics Faculty of the Academy of Fine Arts and completed her studies at Akademia Fotografii in Warsaw.
A winner of Polityka Passport (Paszport Polityki) 2019 Award for Visual Arts category (2020), EMOP Arendt Award (2019), Foam Talent (2017), Spotlight Award (2017, Belfast Photo Festival) and LensCulture Emerging Talent Awards (2016). A finalist of Prix HSBC pour la Photographie (2017), Prix Levallois (2016) and the ShowOFF section of the Cracow Photomonth Festival (2016). She received a grant from the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage in 2008.
Her works have appeared in The Guardian, The New York Times, Internazionale, Spiegel Online, Le Monde and many other magazines.
Weronika Gęsicka’s works have been exhibited worldwide including Dom Museum, Vienna, Austria; La Chambre, Strasbourg, France; Kyotogpahie, Kyoto, Japan; Polish Institute, Düsseldorf, Germany; Center for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw, Poland; Red Hook Labs, NYC, USA; Beaconsfield Gallery Vauxhall, London, UK; Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt, Germany; Calvert 22 Foundation, London, UK; Foam Fotografiemuseum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Contemporary Museum, Wrocław, Poland; Festival Circulations, The Cent Quatre, Paris, France; Photomonth Festival, Cracow, Poland.
Gęsicka’s works can be found in prestigious collections including Dom Museum Wien, Vienna, Austria; Arendt Collection, Luxemburg; MuFo Museum of Photography, Cracow, Poland; Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation, Germany; National Museum in Wroclaw, Poland.
COLLECTIONS
National Museum, Wroclaw, Poland
White & Case, Warsaw, Poland
Dom Museum Wien, Vienna, Austria
Arendt Collection, Luxemburg
MuFo Museum of Photography, Cracow, Poland
Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation, Germany
BOOK
2017 Traces Jednostka & W. Gęsicka, M. Sokalska, Warsaw
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2020 Cliffhanger Galeria Jednostka, Warsaw, Poland
2019 What a Wonderful World Agnes B Gallery, Tokio, Japan
2019 What a Wonderful World Shimadai Gallery, Kioto, Japan
2019 Seltsam Instytut Polski, Düsseldorf, Germany
2019 Confusion Dymchuk Gallery, Kiev, Ukraine
2019 Confusion Museum of Georgian Literature, Tbilisi, Georgia
2019 Confusion Dymchuk Gallery, Kiev, Ukraine
2019 Weronika Gęsika La Chambre, Strasbourg, France
2019 What A Wonderful World Kyotogpahie, Kyoto, Japan
2019 Confusion Odessa Photo Days, Invogue Art Gallery, Odessa, Ukraine
2019 Seltsam Polish Institute, Düsseldorf, Germany
2018 I remember my birth Project Room, Center for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw, Poland
2017 Traces Fotografic Gallery, Prague, Czech Republic
2017 Traces Phnom Penh Photo, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS AND EVENTS
2021 Fotomorgana National Gallery of Art, Sopot, Poland
2020 Uniforms and Workwear MAST Foundation, Bologna, Italy
2019 Family Matters Dom Museum, Vienna, Austria
2019 SHE Elizabeth Houston Gallery, New York, USA
2019 Bodyfiction National Museum of Art and History, Luxembourg
2018 Foam Talent Red Hook Labs, NYC, USA
2018 Foam Talent Beaconsfield Gallery Vauxhall, London, UK
2018 Foam Talent Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt, Germany
2018 The Photographers Gallery / artist talk, London, UK
2018 Family Values: Polish Photography Now Calvert 22 Foundation, London, UK
2018 Bodyfiction ZOYA Gallery, Bratislava, Slovakia
2018 Plat(t)form / portfolio review Fotomuseum Winterthur, Switzerland
2017 Foam Talent Foam Fotografiemuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2017 Zasoby zablokowane Contemporary Museum, Wrocław, Poland
2017 Festival Circulations, The Cent Quatre, Paris, France
2017 Photography II – Medium in New Ways ALAN İstanbul, Istanbul, Turkey
2016 Vice Magazine Photo Show Industria Superstudios, NYC, USA
2016 Marks Photomonth Festival, Cracow, Poland
AWARDS
2020 Polityka Passport 2019 in the Visual Arts category
2019 EMOP Arendt Award
2017 FOAM Talent
2017 Spotlight Award, Belfast Photo Festival
2016 LensCulture Emerging Talent Awards