Ryszard Waśko (1949)
Multimedia artist, curator, organizer of artistic activities. He is the author of films, videos, paintings, drawings, photographs, collages, objects and installations. In the years 1970-1974 he studied at the Cinematography Department at the National Film, Television and Theater School in Łódź, where he then worked until 1983. In 2004-2005 he lectured at the Valand School of Fine Arts in Gothenburg. In 1990-1992 he was the program director of the P.S.1 Museum in New York (now P.S.1 Institute of Contemporary Art, branch of the Museum Of Modern Art). In the years 1997-1999 he chaired the Internationales Künstler Gremium based in Cologne.
In the 1970s, he was a member of the Film Form Workshop, an avant-garde collective of painters, filmmakers, critics, poets, philosophers and scientists dealing with experimental film and multimedia.
In 1981 in Łódź, he initiated and curated the first edition of the international project Construction in Process, which was continued in subsequent years in various parts of the world: in Munich (1985), Łódź (1990, 1993), on empty Negev in Israel (1995), in Melbourne (1998), in Bydgoszcz and on the Piast Trail (2000). In 1990, he co-founded the Artists’ Museum in Łódź, which developed an extensive structure of departments operating in various regions of the world. The museum has organized over 60 international events, exhibitions, meetings, panels, concerts, lectures and projects on contemporary culture. He was the initiator and co-creator of the international exhibition Łódź Biennale (2004).
From 1983 he lived in Berlin, where he received the DAAD scholarship, in 1989 he returned to Poland for a few years, since 1996 he has been living and working in Berlin.
2023
Ryszard Waśko. Painting, Polswiss Art, Warsaw
2021
Beauty of Ideas, Mazovian Centre of Contemporary Art Elektrownia in Radom
2020
Ryszard Waśko. From A to B, Profile Foundation, Warsaw
Today is Yesterday, (z Natalią LL), Galerie aKonzept & Raphael Levy, Berlin
2019
International Festival of Contemporary Music and Visual Arts „Mózg Festival”, Bydgoszcz
2018
Do not say that you were born at the wrong time, Arton Foundation, Warsaw
I will bring you Flowers, akonzept Galerie, Berlin
Windows (with Trevor Morgan), Studio, Torstrasse 114, Berlin
2016
Who’s Afraid Of Colour (Positive vs. Negative), ŻAK | BRANICKA, Berlin
2015
Time Sculptures – Conceptual work from the 80s, ŻAK | BRANICKA, Berlin
Farewell to Arms (z Alejandro Vidalem), Neuer Kunstverein, Vienna
Timeline, Sexauer Gallery, Berlin
2014
Time Frames – Conceptual work from the 70s., ŻAK | BRANICKA, Berlin
Rose Selavy, Vienna Art Week, The Breakfest Club, Vienna
Timeline, The Room/New Gallery, Musrara, Jerusalem
2013
Genesis, TRAFO Center for Contemporary Art, Szczecin
one-man-show, Zak/Branicka Gallery, Berlin
2012
Do the Meditation Rock, Freies Muzeum, Berlin
2011
One&One, Freies Muzeum, Berlin
2010
Portret of a Family in Time, Cinema Museum, Łódź
Portret of a Family in Time, Miejski Ośrodek Sztuki, Gorzów Wielkopolski
2009
Contemporary Portrait, Haus am Lutzowplatz, Berlin
2008
Cut-up Portrait, Senatorska Gallery, Warsaw
Łódź- Berlin (retrospective), City Museum, Łódź
2007
N.N. Portret współczesny, Galeria 86, Łódź
So What?, Lodz Art Center, Łódź
2006
TV Stories, Lodz Art Center, Łódź
Malarstwo. Fijałkowski, Leder, Waśko, Galeria 86, Łódź; Galeria Signum, Poznań
I Am Telling You a Secret, Galeria Signum, Poznań
2005
I Am Telling You a Secret, Galeria Wschodnia, Łódź
Nasty Bedtime Stories, Galeria Fizek, Poznań
2003
New Paintings, Center for the Arts, New York
Nasty Bedtime Stories, Galeria 86, Łódź
2002
Email Paintings, Center for the Arts [OFCA], New York
2001
Mała retrospektywa, Galeria 86, Łódź
Obrazy intymne, East Gallery, Łódź
Breaking News, Herzliya Gallery, Herzliya, Israel
Breaking News, East Gallery, Łódź
2000
Recent Works, Many H Gallery, Tel Aviv
Film show, Brandeis University, Waltham, USA
1997
Small Rose Garden, Muzeum Artystów, Łódź
1995
Ryszard Waśko. Retrospektywa 1970 – 1990 (fotografia, film, video), FF Gallery, Łódź
1993
Meal for the Rich & Poor, East Gallery, Łódź
1991
Moje kwiaty są owocem [instalacja], East Gallery, Łódź
Ryszard Waśko, Galeria Labirynt 2, Biuro Wystaw Artystycznych, Lublin
New Works, Andre Joliet Galerie, Duisburg
1987
Homage for the Street, Ruine der Künste, Berlin
1986
Recent Works, Neuer Berliner Kunstverein, Berlin
1984
Recent Works, Brigitte March Gallery, Stuttgart
Recent Works, Kunstverein, Kassel
Recent Works, Hoffman Gallery, Friedberg next to Frankfurt
1982-83
Films by Waśko, pokazy m.in.: Slade School of Art, St. Martin’s School of Art, Wimbledon, School of Printing,Camberwell Collage of Arts, London
1981
Retrospective, Museum Folkwang, Essen
Hypothetical Works, ‘m’ Galerie, Bochum
1979
Ryszard Waśko, Galeria Ślad, Łódź
Academy of Fine Arts and Design, Enschede
Hypothetical Photography, Trace Gallery, Łódź
1976
Weariness of my Leg, ‘m’ Galerie, Bochum
1975
Ryszard Waśko, Galeria Remont, Warsaw
1974
Film Show, Cinematheque Royal de Belgique, Brussels
1972
Ryszard Waśko, Fotografia, Łódź Film School
2024 / 2025
Series and Editions, Profile Foundation, Warsaw
2023
BEYOND GOOD AND EVIL, Profile Foundation, Warsaw
Against All Expectations, Profile Foundation, Warsaw
2022
DEDICATIONS, Profile Foundation, Warsaw
2021
ALPHABET, Profile Foundation, Warsaw
On Paper, Profile Foundation, Warsaw
Sculpture in Search of a Place, Zachęta – National Gallery of Art, Warsaw
The Artist Is Present, MOCAK Museum of Contemporary Art in Krakow, Krakow
Andrzej Paruzel, Ryszard Waśko – Fish and Cows. Become Friends With Nature, Galeria Bielska BWA, Bielsko-Biała
2020
Construction in Process. 1981-2000, Profile Foundation, Warsaw
Searching for the Shapes Within, Persons Projects, Berlin
The Penumbral Age. Art in the Time of Planetary Change, Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw
Displaced, Synagoge, Rome
From an imaginery Collector, akonzept Gallery, Berlin
2019
Zoom to the 1970s, The National Museum in Gdańsk / Gdańsk Photography Gallery, Gdańsk
Ślad, Art Factory, Łódź
Wszyscy spotkamy się w tym samym miejscu, BWA Wrocław Główny
There Where You Are Not, TRAFO Center for Contemporary Art, Szczecin
Performative Activities of the Creators of Polish Neo-Avant-Garde, Recordings, Profile Foundation, Warsaw
Help Nature/Heal the Earth, The Lofts of Beacon, New York
2018
Eksperyment! Fotografia początku XX wieku we Lwowie oraz jej polscy i ukraińscy kontynuatorzy XX i XXI wieku, Galeria FF, Galeria Imaginarium, Galeria Nowa, ŁDK, Łódź
Order and Chaos, Arsenal Municipal Gallery, Poznań
Excersises in Freedom, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Dresden
2017
Proximity of the Straight Line. Performativity of the Avant-garde, Polnisches Institut Berlin, Berlin
Kino-Eye. Around Vertov and Constructivism, Arsenal Gallery, Białystok
We All Love Art, Schlachthause GalerieBerlin
2016/2017
Warsztat Formy Filmowej, Atlas Sztuki, Łódź
2016
27th International Biennial of Graphic Design Brno 2016, Brno
Generationsübergreifend – Polish Art in Marl, Skulpturenmuseum Glaskasten, Marl
Wobec awangardy XX wieku, Atlas Sztuki, Łódź
Who Isn’t Afraid of the Avant-garde!, Profile Foundation, Warsaw
Moving Tales, La Gaia Collection, Cuneo
2015
Emmett Williams and his Adventures in Poland, Museum FLUXUS+, Potsdam
Art for All, Akademie der Künste, Berlin
Aleja Solidarności, Flat Time House, London
2014
Crime in Art, MOCAK Museum of Contemporary Art in Krakow
Decade of Revolt, Kulturhuset, Stockholm
The Party, TRAFO Center for Contemporary Art, Szczecin
Cosmos Calling! Art and Science in the Long Sixties, Zachęta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw
2013/2014
For Encouragement to Museum. The Collection of the Lodz Association of Encouragement of Fine Arts, Museum of Art in Łódź
2013
Inseldasein, DAAD Gallery, Berlin
2012
Anonymous, Perm Museum, Perm
Accidentaly on Purpose, QUAD Gallery, Derby
2011
Tür an Tür. 1000 Jahre Kunst&Geschichte Deutschland/Polen, Martin Gropius-Bau, Berlin
Construction in Process 1981 – A Community That Came?, Museum of Art in Łódź
Ostalgia, New Museum, New York
Polska fotografia konceptualna, Freies Museum, Berlin
2010
Latent Capital. 20th century Photography from Cezary Pieczyński’s Collection, Museum of King John III’s Palace at Wilanów, Warsaw
2009
See This Sound, Lentos Museum of Art, Linz
Group Show, Ivo Kamm Gallery, Zürich
Eye World, Triple Candie Gallery, New York
Passing Through, Kunstpunkt Gallery, Berlin
Paris Photo, Carrousel du Louvre, Paris
Painting in Photography, Givatayim Theatre, Tel Aviv
Pokaz filmów o konstruktywizmie w sztuce, kino Helikon, wydarzenie towarzyszące wystawie Lost in colour. Dialog 1 – wystawa prac Nicholasa Bodde i Jarosława Flicińskiego in Gdansk City Gallery
2008
Multikino, Tranzitdisplay, Prague
Time is always now, Gallery “m”, Bochum
1,2,3…Avant-Gardes, Tate Modern, London
Yes ,No? Other options, Art Sheffield 08, Sheffield
2007
The Optical Edge, Pratt Manhattan Gallery, New York
Tents, Synagogue (the New Ghetto), Venice
Dowcip I władza sądzenia (Asteizm w Polsce), Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art, Warsaw
2006
Image/Text, Tate Modern, London
Analogue: Pioneering Artists ‘Video from Poland’, Tate Modern, London
Śniadanie w Muzeum. Kolekcja Łódzkiego Towarzystwa Zachęty Sztuk Pięknych, Museum of Art in Łódź
2005
Open Systems, Tate Modern, London
2004
I Łódź Biennale (wystawa Palimpsest muzeum), Museum of the History of the City of Łódź
The Workshop of Film Form, Electronic Arts Intermix, New York
2003
A History of Polish Avantgarde Film, Museum of Modern Art, New York
2002
Klasycy I Perły, CINEDOC, Paris
Kamienie dla pokoju, Museum of Art in Łódź
2001
Markers Projects, Art Biennale, Venice
2000
From Here to There, Akademie Schloss Solitude, Stuttgart
Żywa Galeria, Galeria R, Poznań
Warsztat Formy Filmowej (1979 – 1977), Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art, Warsaw
Construction in Process VII, The District Museum in Bydgoszcz
Polish Film School, Museum of Modern Art, New York
1999
Oreste Project, Italian Pavilion, Art Biennale, Venice
1st International Installation Triennale Haifa, Museum of Art, Haifa
1998
Personal Touch, Art in General Gallery, New York
The Bridge, Construction in Process VI, Melbourne
Oikos, Muzeum Okręgowe, Bydgoszcz
Hansa-Art Special, a Gimnasium, Cologne
Shattered Lattitude, Lombard Fried Gallery, New York
1997
Another Language, Museum of Art, Haifa
Żywa Galeria, Zachęta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw
1996
Art- Special Hansa, Cologne
Shattered Latitudes, Lombard-Freid Gallery, New York
1995
Under One Roof, Podewil, Berlin
Construction in Process V, Co-existence, Negev Desert, Israel
Footprint, Kunsthaus Tacheles, Berlin
1994
Central Europe: Art from the 60s, Schüppenhauer Gallery, Cologne
Museum of Contemporary Art [international congress), Kunsthalle der Bundesrepublik, Bonn
Milk, Volkskundemuseum, Munich
Medium Bild, Gallery T&A, Berlin
1993
In-between Project, Turkish Pavilion, Art Biennale, Venice
Construction in Process, IV,: My Home is Your Home, Łódź
1992
Farbe Gold, Künstlerhaus, Berlin
37 Rooms, Kunstwerke, Berlin
1990
Construction in Process III: Back in Łódź, Łódź
1989
Niemandsland, Kunsthalle, Recklinghausen, Recklinghausen
Balkon mit Fächer, Academy of Arts, Berlin
DuMont, Kunsthalle, Cologne
Berlin’s Art Scene, Berlinische Gallery, Berlin
1988
Berlin, Kulturstadt Europas (project by Berlin’s Senat), West Berlin
1987
Zeitberliner, Stadtliche, Stuttgart
Homage to Joseph Beuys, Klaus Staeck Gallery, Heidelberg
1986
Idee, Raum, Konstruktion, Kunsthalle Bielefeld, Bielefeld
After Malevich Square, Wilhelm-Hack-Museum, Ludwigshaven
1985
European Film Avant-garde 1960–1980, American Federation of Arts (tour-show),
Biennale des Friedens, Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg
Construction in Process II: Process und Konstruktion, Lenbachhaus Museum, Munich
Konkret Vier, Kunsthaus Nurnberg , Nuremberg
1983
Praesence Polonaise, Centre Pompidou, Paris
1982
Sol LeWitt’s Choice, Cenobio Visualitŕ Gallery, Milano
1981
Konstrukcja w procesie, Łódź
1980
Pier + Ocean: Art of the 70s, Hayward Gallery, Londyn: Rijksmuseum Kroller-Muller, Otterllo
Biennale de Paris, Paris
Sydney Biennale, Sydney
1979
Rysunek I fotografia, Museum of Art in Łódź
Works & Words, DeAppel Gallery and Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
Polish Photography, International Center of Photography, New York
Film as Film, Hayward Gallery, London
3rd International Festival of Indepdendent Avant-garde Film, National Theatre, London
1977
22 Polish Artists, Kölnischer Kunstverein, Cologne
DOCUMENTA 6, Kassel
Encounter on Video, Museum of Contemporary Art, Caracas
Film als Film, Kölnischer Kunstverein, Cologne
Foto-Medium-Art, Galeria Foto Medium Art, Wrocław
Art as a Contextual Art, St. Petri Gallery, Lund
1976
Mechaniczne Środki Przekazu, Galeria Ślad, Łódź
Experimenta, Ferro Gallery, Napoli
1975
Workshop, Kunsthalle, Düsseldorf, Museum Folkwang, Essen:Art Center, Oslo
1974
Musee du Cinema, Brussels
1973
XII Sao Paulo Art Biennal, Sao Paulo
Biennale of Spatial Forms, Galeria EL, Elbląg
Akcja Warsztat, Museum of Art in Łódź
1972
Contemporary Polish Art., Richard Demarco Gallery, Edinburgh
