Following the Asian Thread
The exhibition "Following the Asian Thread" at the r_z gallery in Rzeszów (Poland) is a continuation of the curatorial and artistic reflections presented at the turn of 2024 and 2025 as part of the international exhibition "Asian Stories" at the "Sztuka na miejscu" gallery in Wrocław (Poland). The theme stems from the collaboration between Saitip Majewska, PhD, from Thailand and Aqeel Abbas from Pakistan – both doctoral students at the Doctoral School of the Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Art and Design in Wrocław – and their supervisor: Małgorzata Kaczmarska, Assoc. Prof., PhD, professor at the ASP in Wrocław.
This installment of the project also features works by outstanding artists specializing in printmaking. Saitip defended her master's thesis under the supervision of Prof. Krzysztof Tomalski from the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków, who has been avidly collaborating with Thai and Japanese graphic artists for years; similarly, Prof. Mirosław Pawłowski from the University of Rzeszów, whose work featured in the exhibition draws on the writing that caught his attention in Japan. The influence of his research stay in India is evident in the artwork of Magdalena Uchman, Assoc. Prof., PhD, from the University of Rzeszów, co-curator of the exhibition.
Pakistani Alia Hadi Ali, PhD, from the University of the Punjab in Lahore, exploring themes of heritage, identity, and historical narratives, drew on the intertwined fates of Polish women and children who reached Karachi during World War II. Some of them became attached to their new homeland, contributing to its transformation and progressive social transformation. The artist's installation, composed of selected historical documentation, was created on one of the gallery walls. Another installation presented at the Rzeszów r_z gallery, created from dozens of antelopes carved from paper waste, is by Pudji Utomo, an Indonesian artist. His work, which explores the theme of migration, was arranged by Saitip Majewska, as he was unable to attend the exhibition. Aqeel Abbas explores changes in perception during physical and cultural transposition in his work. The exhibition presents selected results of his studies, observations, and experiments, including those using EEG and eye-tracking technology.
Saitp Majewska also presents selected works created during her doctoral research. These include attention-grabbing spatial forms based on traditional Thai paper-cutting techniques and an object made of fabric with a surprising, tactile, diverse filling. Despite their visual appeal, both works were created primarily for sensory perception.
Małgorzata Kaczmarska, co-curator of the exhibition, presents a large-scale work on cotton fabric with a distinctive scent and color due to the use of a personalized version of the traditional Indonesian batik technique. The work was created near Ubud during an international artist residency.
For Piotr Rędziniak, Asia is primarily the Chinese invention of paper. His work is an abstract composition made on handmade paper. The paintings of Katarzyna Cwynar, PhD, and Piotr Dawid Woroniec, PhD, are permeated with spiritual and philosophical references. In Piotr's work, the idea of beauty found in imperfection, impermanence, and the processual nature of existence becomes essential, as Byung-Chul Han puts it: "Beauty is not revealed in perfection, but in the trace of fragility."
Archival images, migrations, paths, and clues. Between Poland and Asia stretches a vibrant emotional landscape, shared and intersecting historical and cultural threads. Identity is not homogeneous, and memory reconstructs surprising images—perhaps afterimages of past events, perhaps traces of inner experience. These permeate the works presented in the exhibition by artists from Poland, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Thailand.
Vernissage: 9.06.2026
Duration: 10–22.06.2026
Curators: Małgorzata Kaczmarska, Magdalena Uchman
Artists: Aqeel Abbas (Pakistan), Alia Hadi Ali (Pakistan), Katarzyna Cwynar (Poland), Małgorzata Kaczmarska (Poland), Mirosław Pawłowski (Poland), Saitip Majewska (Thailand, Poland), Piotr Redziniak (Poland), Krzysztof Tomalski (Poland), Magdalena Uchman (Poland), Pudji Utomo (Indonesia), Piotr Dawid Woroniec (Poland)
Graphic design for promotional materials: Aqeel Abbas
Poster and folder design: Mirosław Pawłowski
Photographs by Małgorzata Kaczmarska
