Paweł Kowalewski

Paweł Kowalewski - (born September 20, 1958 in Warsaw) – painter, author of installations, pedagogue, entrepreneur.

In the years 1978-1983 he attended the Faculty of Painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, graduating with honours under the supervision of Professor Stefan Gierowski.

Founder of Gruppa – one of the leading artists' groups of the second half of the 20th century. His work spans multiple genres, ranging from paintings on canvas and paper, to sculpture (small sculptures in modelling clay) and, in his more recent public activities, also installations and ready mades. All these elements were already to be seen in his multipart and formally elaborate diploma work PERSONAL ART, i.e. PRIVATE ART (SZTUKA OSOBISTA CZYLI PRYWATNA) (1983).

Since 1984, a lecturer at the Faculty of Design of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, where he has been teaching painting until 1994. He has been giving advertising classes since 1994. In 2013 he obtained a postdoctoral degree (Faculty of Graphic Arts).

In 1991 he founded an independent advertising agency. Among other clients at the agency, he is in charge of the social campaign “Drink milk and you will be big” (Pij mleko będziesz wielki). Communication Unlimited is a member of the Advertising Agencies Association (Stowarzyszenie Agencji Reklamowych) and Union of Associations – Advertising Council (Związek Stowarzyszeń Rada Reklamy). Vice Chairman of the IAA Global Board since 2009 and Vice President for Europe.

Solo Exhibitions:

• 1984 - Woe betide, A. M. Sobczyk Atelier, Warsaw
• 1984 - Bad omen, Mała Galeria ZPAF, Warsaw
• 1984 - Mad hammer, Dziekanka Atelier, Warsaw
• 1986 - Satan's day, Gallery "Na Ostrowie", Wrocław
• 1987 - Recital, Dziekanka Atelier, Warsaw
• 1987 - STK, Łódź
• 1987 - Mandala Theatre, Cracow
• 1989 - Paweł Sosnowski Gallery, Warsaw
• 1990 - Everything & at once, SARP Pavilion, Warsaw
• 1990 - Ariadne Galleries, Vienna
• 1991 - Paintings and ready mades, Polish Cultural Centre, Prague
• 1991-92 - Turn of the century, Gallery Appendix, Warsaw
• 1992 - Office of Art Exhibitions, Sandomierz
• 1992 - Isa Brachot Galleries, Brussels
• 1993 - Stockholm Art Fair
• 1993 - Brussels Art Fair
• 2008 - I, shot dead by the Indians for the second time, Gallery Appendix2, Warsaw
• 2010 - NOT ALLOWED!, 2. Mediations Biennale, Poznań
• 2012 - Totalitarianism Simulator, Gallery Propaganda, Warsaw
• 2013 - Totalitarianism Simulator, MCSW Elektrownia, Radom
• 2015 - Strength and Beauty, The Artists House, Tel Aviv
• 2016 - These things now, Gallery Propaganda, Warsaw

Group Exhibitions:

• 1984 - Chaos, Man, Absolute, Church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Warsaw
• 1985 - Brought to account, Gallery Forma, Warsaw
• 1985 - Against evil, against Violence, churches: Mistrzejowice, Podkowa Leśna, Zielonka
• 1985 - Presence, Parish of Divine Mercy, Warsaw
• 1985 - 1st Biennale Road and Truth, Holy Cross Church, Wrocław
• 1985 - Time of sadness, Time of Hope, Church of Our Lady of Sorrows, Poznań
• 1985 - 1st Biennale of New Art, Zielona Góra
• 1986 - Records 2, Office of Art Exhibitions, Lublin
• 1986 - Expression of the Eighties, Office of Art Exhibitions, Sopot
• 1986 - Polish Pieta, churches: Poznań, Wrocław
• 1986 - Testimony of togetherness, Museum of the Warsaw Archdiocese, Warsaw
• 1987 - Mystery of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, Museum of the Warsaw Archdiocese, Warsaw
• 1987 - 2nd Biennale Road & Truth, Church of the Holy Cross, Wrocław
• 1987 - What's up?, Former Norblin Factory, Warsaw
• 1988 - In the image and likeness. New Religious Expression, Former Norblin Factory, Warsaw
• 1989 - Feelings, Gallery Dziekanka, Warsaw
• 1989 - Pole. German. Russian., Former Norblin Factory, Warsaw
• 1990 - 1990 – Artists for the Republic, Gallery Studio, Warsaw
• 1990 - Summer Salon, National Museum, Cracow
• 1990 - Kunst des 20 jahrhunderts aus Mittel und Osteuropa, Dorotheum, Vienna
• 1991 - Sketch for the Contemporary Art Gallery, National Museum, Warsaw
• 1991 - What good is an artist in times of misery, Zachęta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw; National Museum, Cracow
• 1991 - Artistic confrontations, Old Town Hall, Toruń
• 2001 - Run of the Reds, Gallery Zderzak, Cracow
• 2003 - Children, artists, harlots and businessmen, Gallery Program, Warsaw
• 2003 - Obligation and revolt. The Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw 1944-2004, Zachęta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw
• 2004/05 - Warsaw - Moscow/ Moscow - Warsaw 1900-2000, Zachęta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw; Tretyakov State Gallery, Moscow.
• 2006 - In Poland, meaning where?, Centre for Contemporary Art, Warsaw
• 2007 - Humour and the power to think (Asteism in Poland), Centre for Contemporary Art, Warsaw; Łaźnia Centre for Contemporary Art, Gdańsk
• 2007 - Image of life, Museum of the Origins of the Polish State, Gniezno
• 2007 - Poisoned source. Contemporary Polish art in the post-romantic landscape, National Museum, Szczecin; Latvian National Arts Museum.
• 2008 - Banana republic. Expression of the Eighties., Office of Art Exhibitions Wałbrzych; National Museum, Szczecin; Gallery Wozownia, Toruń; City Gallery Arsenał, Poznań; Łaźnia Centre for Contemporary Art, Gdańsk
• 2009 - Like a Rolling Stone, Centre of Polish Sculpture, Orońsko; (Like a Rolling Stone 2) Gallery Appendix2, Warsaw
• 2009-10 - Banana republic. Expression of the Eighties, MODEM Centre for Modern and Contemporary Arts, Debrecen
• 2010 - Eighteenth. The battle, which changed the fate of the world, Pavilion at the Parade Square, Warsaw
• 2010-11 - Generation 1980. Independent works of the young in the years 1980-1989, National Museum, Cracow
• 2011 - Big Boys Games, Gallery Appendix2, Warsaw
• 2011 - Preview, Gallery Propaganda, Warsaw
• 2013 - Blue The Most Beautiful Colour In The World, Gallery Propaganda, Warsaw
• 2013 - Small is big, Gallery Propaganda, Warsaw
• 2014 - Between seasons, Gallery Propaganda, Warsaw

Exhibitions and Events by Gruppa:

• 1983 - Forest, hill and cloud above the hill, Dziekanka Atelier, Warsaw; Office of Art Exhibitions, Lublin
• 1984 - Premier's mother, Chamber Theatre, Warsaw
• 1984 - A woman running off with butter, Dziekanka Atelier, Warsaw
• 1985 - Lifting the curtain on the secrets of traditional painter's atelier, Dziekanka Atelier, Warsaw (1st event)
• 1985 - Art of admiration, Gallery SHS, Warsaw
• 1985 - How to help Kryszkowski?, Strych, Łódź
• 1985 - Only tonight darling, Office of Art Exhibitions, Lublin
• 1985 - Rypajamawłoszard Grzykomopasoźniak Wkład w wykład vel Idź wylicz, Dziekanka Atelier, Warsaw (2nd event)
• 1985 - Who can see this radius vector, Gallery Wieża, Warsaw
• 1985 - Gold of the economy, incense of art, bitter myrrh of politics, Parish of Divine Mercy, Warsaw
• 1985 - Song and Dance Ensemble of the Polish People's Republic, Dziekanka Atelier, Warsaw (3rd event)
• 1986 - You rabble, boredom which brings bad luck is your hero, Gallery Wielka 19, Poznań
• 1986 - Sluggish youth sings, stuffy maid whirls, Dziekanka Atelier, Warsaw (4th event)
• 1987 - Gruppa Gruppen, Gallery Atrium, Stockholm
• 1987 - Avanguardia polacca esposizione dell'arte indipendente polacca, Centro Direzionale Colleoni, Agrate Brianza near Milan
• 1987 - Kuda Gierman, Gruppenkunswerke, Kassel
• 1988 - The drawing on site, Gallery Obraz, Poznań
• 1988 - Artist in a temple of words about art, Gallery "Na Ostrowie", Wrocław
• 1988 - They interfere animals with spitting out objects taken into their snouts, Gallery DESA „Nowy Świat”, Warsaw
• 1988 - Cathedral of Painting, Gallery Dziekanka, Warsaw (5th event)
• 1988 - Ars aura prior, Gallery DESA „Stary Rynek”, Poznań
• 1988 - Gruppa – documents, Gallery Pokaz, Warsaw
• 1989 - The dungeons of Manhattan, Łódź
• 1989 - Woyzeck. (Shacks? We've got our own), Studio Theatre, Łódź
• 1991 - Gruppa – 6 good mistakes, Dziekanka Atelier, Warsaw
• 1992 - Gruppa 1982-1991, Zachęta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw
• 2002 - We confess guilt, ask for forgiveness and promise improvement, Program Art Gallery, Warsaw
• 2013 - Oh, It’s All Right Now, Gallery Propaganda, Warsaw