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Murak Teresaborn on July 5th, 1949 in Kiełczewice, lives in Warsaw. She studied history of art at the Catholic University of Lublin, and in 1976 graduated from the Faculty of Painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. Her art, which oscillates between organic and ecological actions (Equilibrium of Balance realised in 1974 at Symposium in Ubbeboda in Sweden was the first in her series of "sculptures for the Earth”) and interventions and performance, is markedly inspired by Christian thought and the philosophy of the Far East. What distinguishes the artist’s creative output against the background of other avant-garde actions taken up in Poland in the 1970’s is a specific focus on the life-cycle of plants, which the artist compares to the creative process. It was for this reason that she used the seeds and flowers of lady’s smock as the material for her works. In the 1970’s, when Murak used plants in interventions and in events of a sacral and ritual character, Zasiewy became the characteristic feature of her art. At that time, the artist carried out such interventions as Procesja (Warsaw 1974) and Wielkanocny dywan in Kiełczewice as well as other actions she has been carrying out since 1974. In Przyjście zieleni - Zasiew 33 realised at the Repassage Gallery in Warsaw and Lady's Smock in Lublin in 1975, Teresa Murak for the first time rendered the contact of her own body with the plants she grew as a substantial part of her art. Due to the purely aesthetic properties of her “sowings”, they have become a crucial element of works created in future years, including her graphic works and film footage. Murak’s works can be found in numerous collections worldwide (since 1996 one of her works from the Sculptures for the Earth series is to be found in the Hoffmann Collection in Berlin). The artist has also gained recognition for her multiple artistic actions held in urban space. The most famous include Dzieła lęgną się w szczelinach rzeczywistości which was held in Warsaw in the years 2003-2004 and Most - Rzeźba spotkań over Aleja Solidarności in Warsaw the following year. The motto the artist uses to define her art is My art is your art: the act of bestowing a gift to the audience by the artist is of crucial importance to her. |
Lady's Smock The footage of one of Teresa Murak’s first “sowings” was screened during the ArtBoom Festival.  Project curator: Joanna Walewska Pictures: Weronika Szmuc |
12 - 22/06/2009
Lady's Smock
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Wawel Castle
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