Krzysztof Gil is a Roma artist whose work addresses significant historical themes related to the history of the Roma people, exclusion, and forgotten memories. In his latest works, which we will present as part of the Festival, the artist focuses on the concept of race, emphasizing a time in history before this category was established. He references cultures from the Global South, mythology, art history, and capitalism to weave broad themes into individual stories or intertextual narratives. The protagonists of the presented works are usually hybrids. Krzysztof Gil combines human bodies with the heads of dogs, swans, or vice versa – cat bodies with human faces. In ancient beliefs, these forms had an ambivalent character – on one hand, they represented superhuman strength that inspired awe, and on the other, they evoked fear and unease.
Besides their reference to mythological figures, these hybrids carry hidden meanings. For the artist, they are a metaphor for the "Other." If we look into the etymology of the word, we find that hybride in French and German originally meant the offspring of parents from different origins. The collage-like combination of bodies, motifs from history, and various cultures reflects the artist's primary interests. It is a transhistorical tale about the past, methods of representing minorities, and prejudices, while also attempting to explain the present in all its chaos, confusion, and complexity.
About the Artist
Krzysztof Gil (b. 1987, Kraków) is a visual artist who works with drawing, painting, sculpture, and printmaking. He graduated from the Faculty of Graphics at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków, where he earned a master's degree under the supervision of Dr. hab. Prof. ASP Piotr Panasiewicz. In 2018, he completed his PhD in the field of art at the same institution. He currently teaches at the Faculty of Art at the Pedagogical University of Kraków. In 2016, he was awarded the Creative Scholarship of the City of Kraków.
He has exhibited his works in institutions and galleries such as the European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC) in Berlin, the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, Galeria Arsenał in Białystok, Gdańsk City Gallery, the Central Museum of Textiles in Łódź, the Stefan Gierowski Foundation in Warsaw, BWA Wrocław, BWA Tarnów, Szara Kamienica Gallery in Kraków, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Wrocław, l’étrangère in London, and the Akademie der Künste in Berlin.
An accompanying event to the exhibition:
Center for Good Conversation: "Identity Narratives" – a conversation between Taras Gembik (Foundation Towards Dialogue) and Krzysztof Gil.