Monika Sosnowska

Polish sculptor Monika Sosnowska bends, collapses, and twists metal, questioning the finality of the architectural structures that surround us. She creates new abstract objects, whether monumental or small, which often retain vestiges of everyday recognizable forms such as a ladder or staircase.

For this exhibition, a commanding and twisting sculpture Market (2013) will hang from the ceiling of the Efroymson Family Entrance Pavilion. Market was inspired by Sosnowska’s hometown of Warsaw, where one can find outdoor markets populated with metal stalls. Although such markets are not unique to Warsaw, the artist refers to a particular one located there, through a similar use of green and the skeletal structure of the kiosks.

Sosnowska’s contorted sculptures exist between representation and abstraction, between the present and the past. In particular, her investigation of the past addresses the Soviet-era architecture in Warsaw, buildings that no longer exist or have been repurposed. By questioning the certainty of such structures, she is also questioning the finality of history, challenging us to recognize that we are always a society in transition.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.