With Kairos / Hauntological Variations, the work of Julie Mehretu makes its first ever appearance in Poland. In the show’s title, the ancient Greek notion of kairos—a critical turning point—accompanies Derrida’s hauntology—a state where the present is haunted by ghosts of an unresolved past. Mehretu’s work reimagines the legacy of American Abstract Expressionism, establishing her as one of the most influential artists of our time—making an impact in contemporary painting for more than two decades now. Her compositions draw on maps, poetry and literature, music and art history, and most recently, press photography and sociopolitical events; these varied sources act as intellectual and compositional points of departure for her practice in painting, drawing, and experimental printmaking. The exhibition is comprehensive, bringing pieces from different periods to Warsaw: from the analytical diagrams of the late 1990s to drawings and watercolours as well as works on paper and mylar dating to the 2000s, to the most recent, grand paintings whose dense layering acts as a seismographic record of today’s global tensions—all displayed in a way that provides deeper insight into the artist’s practice.

Tarik Kiswanson’s exhibition The Relief at the Institut suédois explores memory, trauma, and regeneration through new sculptures and videos. Through sculptures and videos, Tarik Kiswanson explores themes of memory, trauma, and regeneration. How do the dark moments of our collective history inform the present? What can they teach us about the human condition? How do we endure trauma, and how do we possibly rebuild? These questions are central to Tarik Kiswanson’s practice and his exhibition “The Relief” at the Institut suédois, in which most of the works are newly produced and all are being shown in France for the first time. In his exhibitions, Kiswanson blurs the lines between the architecture and the artwork itself, disrupting our spatial perception. His works depict transitional states – through the interweaving of forms, materials, and expressions anchored in specific places, he creates transformative spaces.

In work that is both playful and formally precise, Iman Issa addresses the perennial questions of art: What is a work of art? How does an object or an image relate to the concerns of its time? What role do artists play in their respective present? For Issa, the well-considered question is as much a medium as wood, metal, or photography. Once a question has been raised or a hypothesis outlined, its validity is tested through the creation of artistic works. This often results in entire series that carry on until the question has been exhausted. Issa’s works allude to the art of others, to monuments, literature, paintings, and photographs, spanning centuries and extending beyond national borders. After studying philosophy and political science, the artist worked primarily in photography. Today, her works mostly take the form of installations. Her “displays,” as she calls them, consist of interrelated elements: short texts, photographs, books, videos, and objects. Often, these constellations lightly subvert or invert traditional relations of caption and illustration. This is the case when a text and a sculpture convoke an absent third object, or when they purposefully talk past each other. One question that arises from Issa’s methods is the extent to which the perception of objects is shaped by their social context: Is an object or an image at the mercy of its viewers’ interpretations, so that its meaning is constantly in flux? Conversely, to what extent does an object, such as a monument or a photograph, shape consciousness? Issa provocatively cuts through this knot with the subjective insistence that a particular form is the only one possible for the presentation of a particular concept. The exhibition title, “Lass uns spielen”, suggested by Issa, encourages viewers to take a closer look, to consider the encyclopedic references that have been spun, and thus to form their own impression. Curated by Stephanie Weber