The first step towards...the modern western Europe collection
30.05.2008-31.08.2009
The Krakow National Museum has enriched its collection with one of the most interesting private modern art collections to find its place in the Main Building of the Museum. On display you can find European and American pieces by artists from the last two decades, such as: Nobuyoshi Araki, Miquel Barceló, Francesco Clemente, Eric Fischl, Mike Kelley, David LaChapelle, Sherrie Levine, Andreas Slominski, Philip Taaffe, and Andy Warhol. The owner of the exhibition, Rafael Jablonka, is a recognized European modern art collector. Some of the exhibitions of the American pop-art, New York Appropriation art and Italian Transavantgarde took place in his Jablonka Gallery in Cologne.
The National Museum in Krakow – Main Building, Aleje 3 Maja.

Exhibit Zbylut Grzywacz 1939-2004
13.03.2009 -  31.05.2009
Zbylut Grzywacz is one of the most interesting and bold artists in the history of Polish modern art. His program realized the idea of enaged art, using his paint work as the platform for the political opposition towards the communist authorities. This is the first, grand retrospective presentation of Grzywacz.
The exhibition emphasises the link between the parallel movements of art expresion - painting, drawing, graphic, sculpture, asembladge, photography and sketching (440 objects in all)- with the studing nature of geology, which ended in science exhibition and writings, and most of all a stunnig collection of minerals and fossils. The way the exhibition is arranged gears on highlighting those links, so a spectator would not loose the relation between artistic expression, intelectuall ascertainment, references to social life, as well as to the philosofic prospective, which  for Grzywacz was the knowledge of the Earth’s history.
Exhibition Zbylut Grzywacz 1939-2004 includes famous art pieces coming from the Polish museum collections, as well as the unknown ones from the Polish and foreign private collections, and those presented for the first time. To ensure the spectator’s full satisfaction a catalogue rich in text and illustrations is offered (over 1000 of color reproductions). This is also a complete catalogue of pictures, graphics and sculptures done by the artist. Included on a CD is also an English version.
National Museum in Krakow - Gmach Główny, al. 3 Maja 1

Jacek Malczewski in Czartoryski Arsenal
26.03.2009 – 24.05.2009
This, one of the most important painters in the history of the Polish art will celebrate a double anniversary in the 2009 year: 155th unniversary of his birthday and 80th anniversary of his death. His painting is centered aroung a few main topics, however presented in various ways, rich in significance and symbols. Next to Christ, there also appears to be present, the Greek gods of death Thanatos, harpies, fauns and chimeras. The painter also created thrilling visions as a dream reflection of liberated Poland, this came as a part of the painter’s upbringing whose father planted the seed of patriotism. The main theme of the exhibition: The art insinuation. Jacek Malczewski 1854-1929 is the myth of the artist. The theme interesting though undergoing a certain crisis in modern times, where the artists doubt whether there is any sense of presenting themselves in art and the sense of art itself at all. Malczewski belonged to the generation which looked for the answer of who they were with the help of art: he left numerous self-portraits. The exhibition presents the most important art work of the artist, like symbolic Malarczyk (Introduction), full of breadth Melancholia and erotic Podszepty sztuki (Insinuation of Art). The art works have been brought in the vicinity of the Castel Wawel from numerous museums and private collections.
Arsenał Muzeum Książąt Czartoryskich, ul. Pijarska 8

Fault and punishment. Justice in European graphic in XVI-XIX century.
12.02.2009 – 19.04.2009
Over 100 woodprints, 10 old prints, headsman swords, art works of the artists from the XVI to the XIX century show the changes in the vision of justice throughout the ages.
The exhibition presents the artwork of the following artists: Albrecht Dürer, Peter Bruegel starszy, Hendrick Goltzius, Peter Paul Rubens, Jacques Callot and William Hogarth.
Allegoric presentation of legendary persons and the present-day legislators, crime and criminals, courts proceedings, punishment executions, and the scenes of mercy are completed with the images of the Last Judgement, which is the time of award for ones and of damnation for others.
The exposition belongs to the cycle of the graphic exhibitions presenting art work which generally is hidden from the public.
International Center of Culture, Rynek Glowny 25