The “Passion or obsession? Frenzy of Collecting” lecture is an invitation for an alternative reflection on gatherers-collectors, their motivations and mental condition. The language used to describe the collector’s practices is surprisingly strongly coloured by the expressions verging on the discourses on addiction. We are talking about the desire for possession, the persistent pursuit of objects, the incapacitating fascination that motivates to act unethically, the passion that turns into obsession and brings a “healthy” man to the edge of madness.
The central motive of the discussion will be an exhibition by Robert Kuśmirowski, “Masyw kolekcjonerski” (The Collecting Bulk), presented in 2009 in the Bunkier Sztuki in Krakow, which was an attempt at artistic description of the phenomenon.
Magdalena Dworak-Mróz – art historian. She specialises in 19th and 20th century painting in theory and in practice. She’s been writing a doctoral dissertation in the Institute of Art of the Polish Academy of Sciences, on the art of Henri Hayden, who was a representative of the École de Paris. Professionally, she’s responsible for the collection of French painting at the ARTYKWARIAT gallery. She also teaches in English at the Poznań University of Art. Her interests also include issues related to the art market, art marketing, psychology of collecting, collection building, and counterfeiting.

12.04.2017, 6pm