Chris Nowicki at the Tianjin Academy of Fine Art

The largest exhibition of contemporary Polish prints ever opened in Tianjin, China on October 20, 2010 at the Museum Gallery of the Tianjin Academy of Fine Art. The exhibition consisted of almost 300 prints by 102 of Poland’s leading printmakers. All fine art techniques were represented with an abundance of traditional methods such as mezzotint, stone lithography and etching, including modern methods of digital and computer generated imagery.

Professor Christopher Nowicki from the Eugeniusza Gepperta Academy of Fine Art and Design in Wroclaw, Poland was curator of the exhibition. “It was an exhibition that took two years from conception to realization. All seven of the Polish Academies of Fine Art were represented plus the Schools of Higher Learning in the cities of Torun and Lublin. If you wanted to see what is happening in Polish printmaking this was the show to see.”

The Tianjin Academy of Fine Art was a co-organizer of the exhibition with sponsorship coming from the Adam Mickiewicz Institute in Warsaw and the Polish Minister of Culture.  From Tianjin the exhibition traveled to the Sichuan University Art Gallery in April 2011 and continued on to the Heilong Jiang Museum near Harbin.

“Poland has a long, distinguished tradition in printmaking. Printmaking in Asia also has a long tradition and is exceptional. I think Poland and China have a lot in common in art and can both benefit technically and philosophically with more contact,” said Prof. Nowicki. “As curator of this exhibition my hope is to exhibit these works in as many places as possible bringing the printmaking disciplines of East and West together to promote cultural understanding and respect.  As of this moment we have only two additional venues, I hope this will expand and include other countries so as many people as possible may benefit from this contact.”

Professor Christopher Nowicki now lives in Wroclaw, Poland and teaches printmaking at the Eugenusza Gepperta Academy of Fine Art in Wroclaw. He has also curated exhibitions of Polish Printmaking in Scotland, USA, Romania and Greece.

Tianjin Academy of Fine Art Exhibition Hall