Warsaw exhibition celebrates Krystyna Zachwatowicz-Wajda's theatrical designs

Warsaw is honoring the significant contributions of Krystyna Zachwatowicz-Wajda with a new exhibition showcasing her influential theatrical and film set designs. The exhibition, titled "One Must Be Constantly Present. The Theatre of Krystyna Zachwatowicz-Wajda," is presented at the Kordegarda gallery.

Zachwatowicz-Wajda, a celebrated artist now residing in Krakow, conveyed her deep appreciation for the exhibition. "I am very pleased that Warsaw, despite my betrayal many years ago, still remembers me and that Kordegarda wanted to do an exhibition of my set designs," she stated in a recorded message for the event. The 96-year-old artist, unable to attend in person, shared her reflections on the ephemeral nature of theater, comparing its fleeting existence to that of human life.

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I am very pleased that Warsaw, despite my betrayal many years ago, still remembers me and that Kordegarda wanted to do an exhibition of my set designs.

The exhibition features a selection of her original set designs, costumes, and production photographs, spanning her extensive career. It particularly emphasizes her connections to two pivotal figures: her father, Jan Zachwatowicz, an architect instrumental in rebuilding Warsaw after the war, and her husband, the renowned filmmaker Andrzej Wajda, whose 100th birthday would have been celebrated this year.

Curator Agnieszka Kołodziej-Adamczyk described the exhibition as an invitation into a poetic and evolving theater, one that embraces political engagement. The works on display, drawn from over 150 theatrical productions, reflect Zachwatowicz-Wajda's artistic journey. The curator noted how her experiences during the Warsaw Uprising and the city's destruction deeply influenced her visual language, often characterized by patinated and worn materials, symbolizing a world shaped by historical trauma. The exhibition also serves as a bridge between Warsaw and Krakow, two cities central to her life and work.

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Theater is fleeting – it lives for a while and dies. Just like a person. That's its beauty.