Description: With Poland, the Dorothea von Stetten Art Prize 2022 is dedicating to an extremly polyphonic, vital, and highly reflective art scene- despite, or perhaps, precisely because of the historically often turbulent and currently once again difficult political situation. On the social foundation of a still quite rigid Catholicism (98% of the Polish population describe themselves as practicing Catholics) on the one hand, and an urban neoliberalism on the other, many of the frequently performative and installational artistic projects tend to revolve around issues of identity, nationality and religion. The contemporary young scene thereby differentiates itself from the representatives of the " critical art" of the 1990s, such as Pawel Althamer and Artur Zmijewski, as well as from the post-Communist generation of painters, such as Wilhelm Sasnal and Rafal Bujnowski, who in the 2000s placed everyday life and its apparent banalities more clearly in the foreground of their research. The selection of the positions represented in the catalog impressively reflects the range, intensity and critical depth with which the young generation of Polish artists approaches their thematic fields. In this context, Zuza Golinska (born 1990) uses her suggestive sculptural arrangements to explore the status of the body in the world, while Diana Lelonek (born 1988) creates proliferating installations that cast a critical eye on the idea of unlimited growth and on our irresponsible use of natural resources. Finally, Daniel Rycharski (born 1986) directs his oeuvre, which is deeply suffused with actionist elements, towards overcoming antagonisms within Polish culture, and he takes up an unambiguous position against the normative claim of heterosexual orientation.
