26.11–12.12.2021
Jednostka Gallery, Warsaw, ul. Andersa 13
Open: Tuesday-Sunday: 14:00-18:00
Opening: 26 November 2021, 18:00
Artists: Katarzyna Korzeniecka i Szymon Rogiński, Zuza Krajewska, Michał Łuczak
Curators: Katarzyna Sagatowska, Monika Szewczyk-Wittek
The exhibition of portraits by Zuza Krajewska, Michał Łuczak and the duo of Katarzyna Korzeniecka and Szymon Rogiński will be on display at Warsaw‘s Jendostka Gallery from 26 November 2021. The photographs and installations by these outstanding photographers were created over several months as part of the “Personal Portrait, or a Close Encounter with. . . vol. 4“.
This is the fourth edition of the project, in which artists present different strategies of approaching the art of portrait. The project combines activities at the intersection of the art of photography and theatre, referring to the idea of the monodrama, as an intimate meeting between the artist and the audience, and at the same time a classical form of creating a photographic portrait, resulting from a meeting between the photographer and the photographed person. Each time it is a close-up aimed at stopping the image of the other person, removing the mask, capturing the moment, stopping time. The question of to what extent it is a portrait of the photographed person, and to what extent it is a portrait of the portraitist, still remains valid.
The exhibition will feature a total of several dozen photographs by Zuza Krajewska, Michał Łuczak and the duo of Katarzyna Korzeniecka and Szymon Rogiński.
The project took place as part of the already well-known and popular series We Are All Photographers. The results are unique and inimitable portraits.
The exhibition will also include films directed by Piotr Małecki, which were made during the project. The premiere will take place on November 30th at 6:00 pm at the Powszechny Theatre.
Zuza Krajewska
The “Personal Portrait” project was, above all, a great pleasure for me! It‘s very nice to take a break from big productions and make an appointment with the photographer to shoot in an intimate, cozy situation with no assistant, no crew and no client. For me it is actually the essence of photography, a test of photographic skill, alertness of eye and heart. Unusual conversations and tenderly opening people up with the camera. A journey into their very personal world. I could actually do this constantly because it recharges the batteries of my photobrain. Thank you so much to All Photographed! You guys are great!
The project is a photographic record of 2-3 hours of meetings with the protagonists and conversations about love, fragments of which will be available to read during the exhibition.
Michał Łuczak
A personal portrait is an encounter that results in a photograph. Like any painting, it carries different meanings depending on who is looking. It is important that the effect should not be indifferent neither to the portraiter nor to the portrayed. By the way, like any photograph, a photographic portrait is also a record of time, of someone at a particular moment in life.
Katarzyna Korzeniecka and Szymon Rogiński
A lens in the hands of a portrait photographer sometimes defies its name. He‘s not objective. It becomes the gaze of the photographer(s). There is a subtle game going on between the portrayed and the portrayer during the photography. A good photograph manages to capture moments of truth that flit between pose and vision. The scans we took of our heroines and heroes during the “Personal Portrait” allowed us to break the pattern of roles between the portrayed and the portrayers. In a way, we went back to the roots of photography – the role of models who “save” themselves during the scan. 150 years ago, people posed by waiting for several minutes without moving fixing their image. Our choice of medium allowed us to give the recording activity to the models themselves, without “hunting” for a good moment. She wrote down the truth.
Project authors: Monika Szewczyk-Wittek and Katarzyna Sagatowska
Organizers: Fundacja Powiększenie, Wszyscy Jesteśmy Fotografami
Main Partner: E. Wedel
Partners: Teatr Powszechny, Jednostka Gallery, Instytut Fotografii Fort, Warexpo
Project co-financed by: City of Warsaw
Media patrons: “Aktivist“, “Artinfo“, Fotopolis, Digital Camera Polska, GoOut, Notes na 6 tygodni, TVP Kultura, “Gazeta Wyborcza“, “Zwierciadło“, “Zwykłe Życie“.
The project “Personal portrait, or a close encounter with. . vol. 4” is co-financed by M. St. Warsaw.