Project Gallery: Monika Sosnowska
Dec. 4, 2013 - Oct. 13, 2014
Monika Sosnowska (b. 1972) is best known for large, site-specific sculptures made of steel, concrete and other industrial materials. Though usually abstract, much of her work draws from the distinctive built environment of Warsaw, with its defunct or re-purposed Soviet-era buildings, its vast industrial zones and its reconstructions of historic neighborhoods destroyed during World War II. Sosnowska’s project for Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) makes dramatic use of the double-height Project Gallery for which it was commissioned.
Consisting of over 1,100 pounds of bent steel, the sculpture references the skeletal structures that are used as kiosks in Warsaw’s informal marketplaces. Often welded together from scrap metal by the same individuals who use them to sell their goods, these structures embody the kind of spontaneous, street-level commercial activity that contributes to a given city’s economic vitality and dynamism, despite its ambivalent status with respect to the official financial system. Although this activity generally unfolds beneath the radar of metropolitan authorities, the material residue that it leaves behind often changes the urban landscape in significant ways. Sosnowska’s sculpture transposes these social forces into the gallery space, amplifying and transforming them into a unified and impactful aesthetic encounter.
Organization and Support
Additional Resources
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Gallery Notes - English
This curatorial essay goes into depth about Monika Sosnowska's installation.
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Gallery Notes - Spanish
This curatorial essay goes into depth about Monika Sosnowska's installation.
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Press Release: PAMM Opens with New Installations by Artists Yael Bartana, Bouchra Khalili, Hew Locke and Monica Sosnowska
In October 2012, the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) invited Israeli artist Yael Bartana, Moroccan artist Bouchra Khalili, British artist Hew Locke, and Polish artist Monika Sosnowska to engage in a year-long process designed to stimulate cultural exchange, public interaction with the artists and Museum, and the creation of new work.
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Press Release: PAMM Commissions Works from Four International Artists for New Museum's December 2013 Reopening
The artists, Yael Bartana (b. 1970, Kfar Yehezkel, Israel), Bouchra Khalili (b. 1975, Casablanca, Morocco), Hew Locke (b. 1959, Edinburgh, Scotland) and Monika Sosnowska (b. 1972, Ryki, Poland), are among the leading contemporary artists working around the world today.
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Press Release: PAMM Announces Inaugural Exhibition Schedule
The selection and presentation of artists, collections, and commissioned projects for PAMM is guided by the Museum’s mission to create dialogues across and through local, regional, and international contexts and to emphasize artists and projects that engage with traditions from the United States, the Caribbean, and Latin America.
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Resource Library: Monika Sosnowska
Learn about PAMM commissioned artist Monika Sosnowska, whose pieces are in major part site-specific works that exist for a limited time before they are destroyed.