Connecting to History in Krakow
newsdepo.com
For New Year’s Eve, the Paris gallery owner Anne-Sarah Benichou will visit Krakow with her family, her sister and mother. It is first of all a homecoming for her because of her Polish origins, and moreover a journey into the history of Eastern Europe, whicConnecting to History in Krakow
For New Year’s Eve, the Paris gallery owner Anne-Sarah Benichou will visit Krakow with her family, her sister and mother. It is first of all a homecoming for her because of her Polish origins, and moreover a journey into the history of Eastern Europe, which she has been passionate about since childhood.At 33, this gallerist has made a mark in the landscape of Parisian art galleries. Before her current role at her self-named gallery, she worked at Nathalie Seroussi Gallery and in the department of Modern art at Christie’s. Initially specialized in the art of the 18th century, she quickly established herself in the world of Contemporary art with a series of well-regarded shows, including one by the American artist Seton Smith.She has already participated in numerous European fairs, and she will go to Art Dubai for the first time in 2019 during the Sharjah art biennale. There, she will dedicate her booth to the Moroccan artist, Chourouk Hriech, in the new section of the fair curated by Elise Atangana.Especially for the events around this year’s celebration of French-Romanian cultural ties, she will be exhibiting the work of Decebal Scriba, a major dissident Romanian artist, who moved to France in the 1980s. He is being rediscovered by the institutions like the Tate and the Pompidou Center now.BLOUIN ARTINFO spoke to Benichou about her interest in Krakow, her preferred itinerary and what kind of art she’ll seek out.Why this preference for Krakow?I have several artists from the East, Decebal Scriba, Florin Stefan and Marion Baruch who is Franco-Italian but was born in Romania. It is an art scene that attracts me, and personally I also have a Polish grandmother with whom I spent a lot of holidays in Poland during my childhood. What interests me in Krakow are all the historical and cultural strata of the city. I am, for example, less attracted to Berlin, which is more contemporary.Where will you stay?I will stay at the Metropolitan Hotel in the Jewish Quarter, nearby the medieval center of Krakow. The neighborhood of my hotel is one of the best preserved in the world. It has housed Jewish communities for centuries until the Holocaust. Today it is rehabilitated, restored, and the neighborhood has been gentrified, like the Marais district in Paris. Magnificent buildings of the 15th and 16th century remain untouched there.Where are you going to have your coffee in the morning?I have a special affection for cafes, and especially historic cafes, where tourists and locals mix in a very strange and lively atmosphere. Kawiarnia Noworolski Cafe, in Rynek Glowny Street, is Krakow’s historic Art Nouveau style cafe, dating back to the beginning of the 20th century. Just the thing for reading one’s newspaper in the morning!Where are you going to see Contemporary art?I’m going to MOCAC, Krakow’s museum of Contemporary art, which was a huge old factory rehabilitated by two Italian architects, Nardi and Proli. Like Pinault with the Bourse de Commerce or the Lafayette Foundation in Paris, I am fascinated by the way in which old buildings can be given a new life, and in which different epochs coexist without razing everything, and rebuilding from top to bottom. The MOCAC exhibitions are now presenting the Polish scene that I am not familiar with, and what interests me is seeing names other than the greats of Contemporary art, that we see everywhere. A major exhibition on Pop art, titled “Pop art after Holocaust,” is an exciting issue that you can find only in these Eastern countries.Won’t all this be too sad for you with regards to the history of Krakow?Historically, in the ghettos and the camps, it is always said that humor had been saving people from horror and sadness. I am one of the first to remember the events of the Second World War in Poland, because that’s part of my story and my family, but it will never stop us from living, from moving forward, laughing and partying. Remembering doesn’t mean contrition, but rather to go on living. Auschwitz is a one-hour ride from the city, but in the outskirts of Krakow, there is aconcentration camp that I will visit. I wonder how history coexists with everyday life, and that’s really what interests me in this city.Are there other historical sites that you will see?I will go to the royal castle, which houses incredible collections including the “Lady with Ermine,” and several other by Leonardo da Vinci.Anything you want to see from the Soviet period?I really want to visit the Futuristic Church of the Virgin Queen of Poland, built in the 1970s, in resistance to the government. It is fascinating to understand how, through art and architecture, religious power opposed the authoritarian government of those years.Which art galleries would you recommend?I recommend Ariel, in UI Szeroka Street, a place that houses an art gallery, a cafe and a restaurant with evening concerts. I like these hybrid places where one comes for different reasons, and which mixes culture and the art of living.Which restaurant will you test?A very small restaurant in the Jewish Quarter, called Pierozki U, in Vincent UI Bozego Ciala Street, which makes little salty delicious turnovers, like my great grandmother and grandmother used to bake, and that I haven’t eaten since then.And for the New Year’s Eve?The city is all decorated for this holiday! There will be fireworks, but I like to find from inside where I will spend my New Year’s Eve. It will be full of surprises. p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Times} https://www.blouinartinfo.com/ Founder: Louise Blouin Read more