Alicja Werbachowska (1939)

You are very welcome to the opening of this solo exhibition of Werbachowska’s recent work, that will take place on February 20  2011,  at 3 p.m. In addition to some new artists' books, the emphasis will be on single-sheet works on paper. These are less well known than her editions of artists' books, that are present in many prestigious collections world-wide. The are, however,  are just as appealing, esthetically and intellectually. Until recently, Werbachowska's works were mainly abstract, with patterns emerging from repeatedly drawn, painted or burned lines, edges of torn paper, and sewing cotton. The newest works involve the same techniques, but are not strictly abstract. Some they allude to a third dimension and others remind one of precious damask. Pictures of landscape- or architectural elements with patterns reminiscent of her abstract drawings are shown side by side the photo's on a single sheet of paper, revealing surprising links between abstraction and visual reality. This use of the camera is related to that in many of her artists' books where she suggests the passage of time e.g. by shifting shades. Even on a single sheet, Werbachowska evokes the passage of time, simply by drawing a sharpened pastel pencil point over sandpaper, causing the abrading tip to broaden as her steady hand moves on. On the occasion of the exhibition we published a small catalogue, showing some of Werbachowska's new single-sheet works.

The Polish-born  Alicja Werbachowska was inspired by the work of ZERO artists like Jan Schoonhoven. Her restrained, abstract work (both works on paper and editioned Artistst books) are in many public collections in the Netherlands and abroad.  These include Museum Meermanno- Westreenianum (The Hague), Teylers Museum  (Haarlem), the Bibliothèque Nationale (Paris), the Victoria and Albert Museum (London),  the Museum für angewandte Kunst and the Universitätsbibliothek (Vienna), the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek (Munich),  the Sackner Archive of Concrete and Visual Poetry (Miami Beach, Florida), and the  New York Public Library. In 2006 the  Museum of Modern Art (New York) purchased several of her works.

Publications

• Alicja Werbachowska ... on paper (Zo 20 Feb 2011)

Reviews

• Alicja Werbachowksa in Kunstbeeld 2009 nr 3 (Ma 02 Maart 2009)