texts: Waldemar Baraniewski, Mateusz Falkowski, Tomasz Fudala, Iwona Kurz, Marek Sobczyk, Andrzej Szpindler, Andrzej Wajs, Hanna Wróblewska
graphic design: Marek Sobczyk
publisher: Zachęta - National Gallery of Art, Modern Art Means Modern Artist Language Foundation (MAMMAL)
ISBN: 978-83-62128-15-0
ISBN: 978-83-84714-27-6

Marek Sobczyk: ‘museum’ in quotation marks, Modern Art Means Modern Artists Language Foundation, Zachęta — Narodowa Galeria Sztuki, Warsaw 2018

Marek Sobczyk’s book is another project in his ‘museums’ series, and a certain kind of a summary of a project spanning multiple years, which began with the ‘Andrzej Wajda’ in quotation marks action — a satire drama played twice in Gdańsk in 2004. Over the course of the next 12 years, Sobczyk took many works of other artists, including Abakanowicz, Koons, Opałka, Wróblewski, Żmijewski, Kozyra, Sawicka, and many others, in quotation marks. On the occasion of subsequent shows (at the Zachęta Small Salon and years later at the Zachęta Gallery and the Arsenal Gallery in Poznań), the artist declared:

‘The “museum” in quotation marks is . . . an individual response to the phenomenon of gathering collections, creating new collection sites, museums, hiring curators, winding up the market machinery for the needs of the emerging collections, as well as the area of presenting the collections and publishing catalogues’ (2006)

‘One artist – “making” works by other artists, taking them into the quotation marks of his compilations. One curator, one director, one deputy director and one technical employee – all the same person.’ (2016)

In addition to photographs from both ‘museum’ in quotation marks shows, the publication is supplemented by texts by Waldemar Baraniewski, Mateusz Falkowski, Tomasz Fudala, Iwona Kurz, Marek Sobczyk, Andrzej Szpindler, Andrzej Wajs and Hanna Wróblewska.