The Grabowski Gallery was an

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

art gallery opened in 1959 in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

's Chelsea by Mateusz Grabowski, anticipating the

Swinging Sixties The Swinging Sixties was a youth-driven cultural revolution that took place in the United Kingdom during the mid-to-late 1960s, emphasising modernity and fun-loving hedonism, with Swinging London denoted as its centre. It saw a flourishing in ...

. It hosted some of the earliest shows of the rising pop art movement and was the first venue in London to bring

op art Op art, short for optical art, is a style of visual art that uses distorted or manipulated geometrical patterns, often to create optical illusions. It began in the early 20th century, and was especially popular from the 1960s on, the term "Op ...

to the public. It launched the careers of some of Britain's and the

British Commonwealth The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an international association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire The B ...

's leading exponents of two- and three-dimensional art and fostered émigré artists from Europe, the Caribbean and the Commonwealth. By the time it closed its doors in 1975 it had mounted around two hundred shows. When the gallery closed Mateusz Grabowski donated his collection of works from the gallery to the

Museum of Art in Łódź A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private collections that are used by researchers ...

and the

National Museum A national museum can be a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In the United States, most nati ...

in Warsaw, Poland.

History

Founded in 1959, the gallery started as a sideline of the Polish émigré

pharmacist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English, is a healthcare professional who is knowledgeable about preparation, mechanism of action, clinical usage and legislation of medications in ...

, Mateusz Grabowski (1904-1976), who had arrived in the United Kingdom as an officer of the

Polish Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland (, ; abbreviated SZ RP), also called the Polish Armed Forces and popularly called in Poland (, roughly "the Polish Military"—abbreviated ''WP''), are the national Military, armed forces of the Poland, ...

in 1940. After

demobilisation Demobilization or demobilisation (see spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and milita ...

in the late 1940s following the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Grabowski formed a pharmaceutical business, having worked as a pharmacist in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

before the war. His innovation in London was to create a

mail order Mail order is the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote methods such as: * Sending an order form in the mail * Placing an order by telephone call ...

chemist to enable Polish and other resettled Central Europeans in Britain and in other parts of the

Free World The "Free World" is a propaganda term, primarily used during the Cold War from 1945 to 1991, to refer to the Western Bloc and aligned countries. It was originally coined in the 1930s and used in the Second World War. The term refers more bro ...

during the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

to send badly needed medicines and medical supplies to their families and friends in countries under

Soviet occupation During World War II, the Soviet Union occupied and annexed several countries effectively handed over by Nazi Germany in the secret Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of 1939. These included the eastern regions of Poland (incorporated into three differe ...

where there were persistent shortages of many everyday goods. His successful business allowed him eventually to indulge his youthful passion for art, first as a collector and subsequently as a patron, by opening a gallery next to one of his chemist outlets at 84

Sloane Avenue Sloane Avenue is a road in London. Sloane Avenue runs roughly north-west to south-east from Brompton Road in Kensington to a junction with Elystan Place and Bray Place, and its short southern continuation, Anderson Street, joins the King's Road ...

in Chelsea. It was an avowedly non-commercial venture. He reputedly mounted exhibitions in exchange for an artwork by the artist. One of its earliest shows was a group exhibition of established Polish artists.

Exhibitions

The gallery became known as a pioneer of group and solo shows of recent art school graduates, including graduates of the nearby

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public university, public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City, London, White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design uni ...

, as well as artists from the British Commonwealth and established Polish émigré artists. Grabowski was aided by art specialists from Poland, including the leading British Polish-born curator and critic

Jasia Reichardt Jasia Reichardt (born Janina Chaykin; 13 November 1933) is a British art critic, curator, art gallery director, teacher and prolific writer, specialist in the emergence of computer art. In 1968 she was curator of the landmark ''Cybernetic Serendi ...

and the artist

Stanisław Frenkiel Stanisław Frenkiel RWA (14 September 1918 in Kraków – 21 June 2001 in London) was a Polish expressionist painter, graphic artist, art historian, teacher, academic and writer. Life He was born in the family of Arnold Frenkiel and his wife ...

. Exhibition themes and titles included ''Image in Progress'', ''Image in Revolt'', ''Inner Image'' to ''MAD - Conroy Maddox'' and ''Tomorrow's Artists''. Among the exhibitors were: 1965 OLIVER BEVAN Both Ways 1

Several of the gallery's exhibition catalogues from 1959 onwards are in the Special Collections of

Leeds University The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed ...

Library, including catalogues for exhibitions by

Ivor Abrahams Ivor Abrahams (10 January 1935 – 6 January 2015) was a British sculptor, ceramicist and print maker best known for his polychrome sculptures and his stylised prints of garden scenes. His career long exploration of new subject matter, novel ...

Michael Sandle Michael Sandle (born 18 May 1936) is a British sculptor and artist. His works include several public sculptures, many relating to themes of war, death, or destruction. Early and private life Michael Sandle was born in Weymouth, Dorset. His ...

and

Michael Rothenstein William Michael Rothenstein (19 March 1908 – 6 July 1993) was a British printmaker, painter and art teacher. Early life Born in Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located ma ...

. The Grabowski was one of several noted contemporary art exhibition spaces initiated by émigré Poles in London. Others were Halima Nałęcz's Drian Galleries in Bayswater, Jan Wieliczko's Centaur Gallery and, longest established,

Feliks Topolski Feliks Topolski Royal Academician, RA (14 August 1907 – 24 August 1989) was a Polish expressionist painter and draughtsman working primarily in the United Kingdom. Biography Feliks Topolski was born on 14 August 1907 in Warsaw, Poland. He st ...

's studio and exhibition in

Waterloo Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, 1815 battle where Napoleon's French army was defeated by Anglo-allied and Prussian forces * Waterloo, Belgium Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Australia * Waterloo, New South Wale ...

References

External links

Gift of Mateusz Grabowski
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grabowski Gallery 1959 establishments in England Art museums and galleries established in 1959 Contemporary art galleries in London 1959 establishments in the United Kingdom Buildings and structures in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea History of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

Grabowski Gallery The Grabowski Gallery was an avant-garde art gallery opened in 1959 in London's Chelsea, London, Chelsea by Mateusz Grabowski, anticipating the Swinging Sixties. It hosted some of the earliest shows of the rising pop art movement and was the firs ...

Polish diaspora organizations Defunct art galleries in London Art museums and galleries disestablished in 1975

History

Exhibitions

References

Further reading

External links