The title "Beyond the Face" points to a broader understanding of portrait. Here, the human figure appears not only as a likeness, but also as part of a landscape, a genre scene or a still life. - The exhibition moves between image and experience, representation and memory. It looks at the physical presence of the figure, but also at the ways that presence becomes dispersed into the world of objects, nature and time - explains curator Wojtek Piotr Onak. - It is conceived as a story of changing ways of seeing: from the 19th-century likeness, through the symbolic and psychological intensity of Young Poland, to contemporary ways of thinking about the human being through the body, memory, time and disappearance.

Rather than following the linear narrative familiar from museums, the exhibition draws on the distinctive characteristics of painting in different periods while allowing the works to enter into unexpected relationships. Paintings by the Polish masters now hang in rooms that only a few months ago were filled with pop art by Andy Warhol, and previously with designs by Gianni Versace and avant-garde creations by Iris van Herpen. This unusual setting invites audiences to encounter the masters of portraiture without the rigid definitions and chronological order of traditional art history. The aim is to bring out what remains vivid and relevant in their work - and to allow contemporary viewers to connect with it through their own experiences and emotions.

Changing the Way We Look

This approach is already evident in the first room, where the exhibition begins with the relationship between master and pupil: Jan Matejko and Stanisław Wyspiański. The two artists represent the end and beginning of significant periods in Polish art, but the curator is less interested in drawing a clear dividing line between them than in capturing a moment when ideas were intensifying and the language of painting was undergoing a profound transformation. - Matejko represents a monumental vision of history, while Wyspiański offers a more personal and expressive perspective, looking inward and exploring the depths of the human being. This relationship also raises questions about the role of the artist, the transition between eras and the changing nature of the gaze itself - says Wojtek Piotr Onak.

The countryside - and, more broadly, nature - becomes the setting for this shift in perspective. The next section includes works by Jacek Malczewski, among them "Peasant in a Sheepskin Coat", "Elenai" and the triptych "My Concert", alongside landscapes and still lifes by Leon Chwistek, Fryderyk Pautsch, Tymon Niesiołowski and Kazimierz Puchała. In keeping with the exhibition's title, the human presence here is not limited to the depiction of a figure. It emerges through traces of human labour, through the landscape and through objects. - The countryside reveals itself as a place of life, imagination and projection - says Wojtek Piotr Onak. - It is a space of everyday life, but also a repository of Polish fantasies about community, nature, loss and endurance.

What Artists See in the Mirror

Portrait and self-portrait occupy a space between the official and commercial functions of art and something far more personal - even intimate. Particularly revealing are artists' attempts to capture themselves on canvas. The works selected by the curator span a wide range of approaches, from constructing a public image to an act of self-discovery. A painted likeness may reproduce a person's appearance, filtered through an artist's individual style, but it can also reveal something less tangible: emotion, psychological state, temperament or social status. These nuances can be traced in the self-portraits and portraits of Jacek Malczewski, Damazy Kotowski, Leopold Gottlieb, Włodzimierz Buczek, Czesław Kiełbiński, Maria Markowska, Allan Rzepka, Alojzy Siwecki and Stanisław Wójtowicz, as well as in portraits by Leon Chwistek, Zofia Leśniak, Blanka Mercère, Władysław Jarocki, Władysław Ludomirski, Józef Mehoffer, Wacław Taranczewski and Stanisław Wiśniewski.

The exhibition also brings contemporary art into the conversation. Wojtek Piotr Onak's curatorial selection serves both to break with the conventional historical narrative and to draw out the universal, contemporary aspects of the works from the TPSP collection. One particularly striking juxtaposition brings paintings from the Young Poland period and the interwar years together with Daniel Rycharski's installation "Winter Garden 3". - The work opens a dialogue with historical representations of the countryside through a language that the artist himself associates with the death of the village, the decline of traditional agriculture and the disappearance of peasant culture, displaced by an industrial model - explains the curator. - It also echoes the first Winter Garden, created together with the residents of Kurówko from discarded parts of agricultural machinery and tools, transformed into colourful metal flowers. The curatorial dialogue extends to works by Magdalena Abakanowicz, Ada Zielińska, Roman Opałka and Rafał Milach. By the final section, the face itself disappears, giving way to a surprising encounter with the abstract works of Wojciech Fangor.

Fine Art, Closer to People

There is a natural connection between the history of the Society of Friends of Fine Arts in Kraków and Stary Browar's exhibition programme in Poznań. One of the key ideas explored by Wojtek Piotr Onak in "Beyond the Face" is that of "expanding the field of reception and building a relationship between the image and everyday life." Founded in 1854, the TPSP developed a modern model of artistic patronage. Through the publication of premia - prints or reproductions of paintings of exceptional artistic value - it also helped make Polish art accessible to a broad social audience. - Since its establishment in 1901, the Palace of Art, home to the Society of Friends of Fine Arts in Kraków, has spent 125 years creating a space where artists and audiences can meet. It has built its own art collection and presented exhibitions by the great masters, while also supporting artists, often from younger generations, who do not necessarily follow well-trodden paths. Pop Culture Gallery in Poznań shows that art is not separate from life. It permeates everyday experience, crosses established boundaries and opens itself up to new audiences. This is why the collaboration feels so natural and important to us. Together, we are building a bridge that makes art more accessible, more present and more appreciated - says Przemysław Witek, President of the Society of Friends of Fine Arts in Kraków and Director of the Palace of Art in Kraków.

Stary Browar also sees a strong connection between the values of the two institutions. - The TPSP had a progressive and, I am not afraid to use the word, pop-cultural character - in the sense of making art accessible and democratic - says Joanna Tupalska, Creative Director and Producer at Pop Culture Gallery. - A similar approach lies at the heart of the cultural mission of Stary Browar and Pop Culture Gallery. Our programme attracts people who regularly engage with artistic events, but it also reaches out to a broad, multigenerational audience. We create a welcoming environment where art can become a universal source of inspiration - something that encourages free interpretation and sparks creativity. "Beyond the Face" fits this idea perfectly.

"Beyond the Face" will be on view at Pop Culture Gallery until 10 February 2027. Admission is free on the first Tuesday of every month. From Tuesday to Thursday, pupils, students and seniors can take advantage of a 1+1 free ticket offer.

Exhibition: "Beyond the Face" ("Poza twarzą") - Works from the Collection of the Society of Friends of Fine Arts in Kraków
Pop Culture Gallery, Stary Browar
10 September 2026 - 10 February 2027
Tickets available at the exhibition entrance and via ToBilet.pl

materials made available by the organizer: Stary Browar