Heavenscrapers_v2 – Exhibition

The exhibition is part of the Warsaw Skyscraper Night. This is a unique opportunity to take a closer look at skyscrapers, not just as we usually do – from the outside – but also to explore their interiors. Exhibition heavenscrapers_v2 invites to look even deeper into the skyscrapers – to see them under painterly analysis and to explore their layer of meaning. This direction of interpretation is indicated by the title, in which the sky in the word skyscraper has been replaced by the heaven, emphasising the spiritual and cultural dimension of these buildings.

Paintings presented in the exhibition are the result of a reflection on what impressions skyscrapers evoke and why they do so. Works show skyscrapers in relation to their two key features: the height – associated with the symbolism of power, progress and the Sacrum, and the glass surfaces – referring to the transparent, structural control and the mythology of capitalism.

In the past, cathedral towers dominated the landscapes of European cities, and their bells marked the rhythm of the day. Later, in the industrial age, church towers gave way to factory chimneys and the time was measured by factory clocks. Today, the tallest buildings in urban skylines are skyscrapers. They do not contribute directly to orientation in time, because nowadays everyone controls the passage of time on their own, trying to keep up with the rushing reality. Nevertheless, Heavenscrapers express how we perceive time nowadays – not as a medium in which events happen, but as a resource that seems to always be in short supply. Heavenscrapers are an architectural expression of ambition, a belief in endless growth and the need for constant development, which, however, leaves little room for restful moments.

Paintings on exhibition are the part of a doctoral thesis defended at the Painting Department of the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk. The exhibition heavenscrapers_v2 is therefore the second edition of this project – the first took place in the Tryton skyscraper in Gdańsk and accompanied the doctoral thesis defence.