The exhibition Actions in Nature is part of a series of presentations by artists whose works can be found in the MOCAK Collection. We will be showing a selection from the dozens of drawings we hold from 2016–2020, as well as new photographs and videos.
Maniak creates in his hometown of Tuchów. Walking around is a frequent motif in his works. The artist captures observations from his hikes using a variety of media. In the photographic series Walks, he explores the sculptural potential of the forces of nature, showing curiously shaped forms of non-human origin. In other projects, the artist physically interacts with nature, squeezing himself between tree roots or making earth sculptures. Among other things, in Tuchów he has created a mound that has become part of the landscape. The work refers to traditional land art works.
For the artist, the process of creating the work and the time devoted to it is crucial – allowing for contemplation and looking at the world from a different perspective. The intentions of Maniak's works coincide with the reactions of the viewers and encourage reflection on the relationship between humankind and nature and our immediate environment.
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Krzysztof Maniak (1990) was born in Tuchów. In 2015, he graduated from the Intermedia Department of the Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków (supervisor: Bogdan Achimescu, PhD) with an MA, and in 2018 he received his PhD in art from the Painting Department of the same Academy (supervisor: Prof. Grzegorz Sztwiertnia). He is the winner of the 2013 Talenty Trójki radio competition, as well as the 14th edition of Hestia's Artistic Journey competition and the 10th edition of the Deutsche Bank – Zachęta artistic competition Views. He has also received the Award of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, a distinction at the Rybie Oko 7 Biennale of Young Art, the Creative Scholarship of the City of Krakow and the Artistic Scholarship of the City of Tarnów, as well as the main award of the 5th Spring Salon at BWA in Tarnów.
His works have been shown in numerous solo exhibitions, including: Fairy Tale (in duo with Mikołaj Szpaczyński, 2022) at the BWA City Gallery in Bydgoszcz, Stone and Tree (in duo with Joanna Przybyła, 2021) at the BWA Warsaw gallery, Selected Films, Photographs, Walks and Objects by Krzysztof Maniak from 2016–2019 (2019) at the BWA Tarnów and the BWA Bielska Gallery, I Remember Snow (2016) at BWA Warsaw, 30 Seconds of Hanging on a Branch before it Broke (2015) at the BWA Gallery of Contemporary Art in Katowice and Standstill (2014) at the Baltic Gallery of Contemporary Art in Słupsk. He has also participated in numerous group exhibitions, including: What Can Be Seen: Polish Art Today (2014) at the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, Into the Country (2014) at SALT Ulus in Ankara, Keep Both Feet on the Ground (2015) at the BWA Contemporary Art Gallery in Katowice and BWA in Tarnów, Polish Forest (2017) at Biała Gallery in Lublin, Nature in Art (2019) at MOCAK, The Penumbral Age: Art in Time of Planetary Change (2020) at the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw or the Post-Artistic Congress (2021) in Sokołowsko.
