On Friday, May 29, the opening of the exhibition “Impressions of Nieborów” was held at Galeria Format (Miejska Biblioteka Publiczna), presenting the work of renowned photographer Janusz Moniatowicz. The artist himself wrote the following about the exhibition: “For years, I have returned to Nieborów and Arkadia with my camera. With passion, I capture the same places, discovering a different color and a unique atmosphere in them each time. […] The wonderful architecture and the richness of nature continue to provide me with many experiences, some of which I have tried to capture through the lens.”
Indeed, the artist has captured the atmosphere of the small town in Łódź Voivodeship in an extraordinary way. “In Nieborów, the atmosphere of the Radziwiłł era still fits; time has stopped there,” Janusz Moniatowicz told the IstotneInformacje.pl portal. “To this day, customs introduced by Professor Stanisław Lorentz, the longtime director of the National Museum, are still observed there. On New Year’s Eve, for example, no dancing parties are organized. The professor used to say that lavish parties could not be held in the absence of the rightful hosts.”
Nieborów’s unique atmosphere has attracted outstanding artists and scholars for years. Moniatowicz met, among others, the brilliant playwright Sławomir Mrożek there. “This incredible atmosphere is everywhere. In my work, I tried to show an unknown Nieborów, one very rarely noticed by visitors.”
“Impressions of Nieborów” is the result of 10 years of work and the photographer’s first solo exhibition in Bolesławiec in more than 20 years. This does not mean, however, that the artist’s ties to our city have weakened. “I live in Jelenia Góra, but I always emphasize that I am from Bolesławiec,” says Janusz Moniatowicz. “This city allows me to fulfill myself creatively,” he adds.
The exhibition’s author has been a longtime collaborator of the Bolesławiec Museum of Ceramics. The catalog “From Craft to Art – Bolesławiec Ceramics from the Reinhold Factory,” designed and published by him, won first prize in the museum publications category at the Sybilla 2008 Museum Event of the Year Competition.
Why photography? “Photography is magic,” Janusz Moniatowicz says with a smile. “It is definitely more difficult than film. Film uses movement. We photographers stop time in a single frame, and that one frame has to tell the whole story. That is art.”
The exhibition can be visited until the end of July.
(ii information)