As a seasoned art collector and curator, as well as one of the figures behind the upcoming launch of Vogue Poland, Kasia Kulczyk is passionate about art from her native country, as she tells Anna Wallace-Thompson
What started your collection?
The first piece I bought was White Shirt by Polish artist Jadwiga Sawicka. She creates ‘written painting’ using news headlines and pieces of clothing.
What is your focus?
While I’ve mostly collected central European works, I gravitate towards Polish art from the 1960s onwards. I collect all media, yet find myself drawn to painting because of my love for texture and the restricted possibilities that a painter faces in exploring new ideas – as exemplified by Paulina Olowska. Having said that, I am interested in artists from all over the world who explore these themes and ideas, such as Brent Wadden.
Is there a crossover between curating and collecting?
As I understand, a curator’s job is to find a harmonious or juxtapositional relationship between works in an exhibition. By collecting a specific period from a specific region, it has allowed for a historically cohesive body of work to come together, allowing for a natural play on themes and subject matter.
How do you know you have to have a particular piece?
I just have to feel it; I follow my heart.
Any exciting discoveries?
Through galleries, mainly in Warsaw, Berlin and Budapest, I discover impressive emerging artists, although my focus is on established and hugely underestimated artists not well known outside of Poland, such as Henryk Stazewski, Jerzy Kałucki, Wojciech Fangor and Ryszard Winiarski.
Advice for aspiring collectors?
Don’t get sucked in by overpriced headline artists in Western galleries.
Photography by Gary Sobczyk
A version of this story appeared in the autumn 2016 issue of Baku magazine.
In 2018, Kasia Kulczyk will see the launch of Vogue Poland, as publishing partner to Condé Nast International, alongside editor-at-large Malgosia Bela and editor Filip Niedenthal
