Praesens (from Latin: "present tense") was a Polish
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 ...
artist and architect
collective
A collective is a group of entities that share or are motivated by at least one common issue or interest or work together to achieve a common objective. Collectives can differ from cooperatives in that they are not necessarily focused upon an e ...
active in the years 1926–1930, which was formed following the dissolution of
Blok.
History
The founders of the Praesens group included graduates of the Faculty of Architecture of the
Warsaw University of Technology
The Warsaw University of Technology () is one of the leading institutes of technology in Poland and one of the largest in Central Europe. It employs 2,453 teaching faculty, with 357 professors (including 145 titular professors). The student body ...
as well as numerous avant-garde visual artists previously associated with Blok.
In 1928, Praesens became the Polish branch of the
Congrés Internationaux d`Architecture Moderne (CIAM).
In architecture, Praesens members had sought to create affordable housing through
functional architecture. The ideas espoused by ''Praesens'' members shared many similarities with those of the artists associated with
Weimar Bauhaus, the Dutch
De Stijl
De Stijl (, ; 'The Style') was a Dutch art movement founded in 1917 by a group of artists and architects based in Leiden (Theo van Doesburg, Jacobus Oud, J.J.P. Oud), Voorburg (Vilmos Huszár, Jan Wils) and Laren, North Holland, Laren (Piet Mo ...
and the Moscow
Vkhutemas.
Among other projects, architects associated with Praesens contributed to the design of the Warsaw Housing Cooperative in the Rakowiec district which was completed in 1936.
Its members included architects
Barbara Brukalska and Stanisław Brukalski,
Bohdan Lachert
Bohdan Lachert (13 June 1900 – 8 January 1987) was a Polish architect, member of Praesens group.
He collaborated with fellow Polish architect Józef Szanajca to design numerous buildings, including modern villas in Saska Kępa – drawing in ...
, Szymon and
Helena Syrkus,
Józef Szanajca, and Józef Malinowski, and artists
Władysław Strzemiński,
Katarzyna Kobro
Katarzyna Kobro (26 January 1898 – 21 February 1951) was a Polish avant-garde sculptor and a prominent representative of the Constructivist movement in Poland. A pioneer of innovative multi-dimensional abstract sculpture, she rejected A ...
,
Henryk Stażewski
Henryk Stażewski (pronounced: ; 9 January 1894 – 10 June 1988) was a Polish painter, visual artist and writer. Stażewski has been described as the "father of the Polish avant-garde" and is considered a pivotal figure in the history of Cons ...
, Aleksander Rafałowski, Maria Łucja Nicz-Borowiakowa, Jan Golus, Karol Kryński, Romuald Kamil Witkowski, and Kazimierz Podsadecki.
Three of its members,
Władysław Strzemiński,
Katarzyna Kobro
Katarzyna Kobro (26 January 1898 – 21 February 1951) was a Polish avant-garde sculptor and a prominent representative of the Constructivist movement in Poland. A pioneer of innovative multi-dimensional abstract sculpture, she rejected A ...
, and
Henryk Stażewski
Henryk Stażewski (pronounced: ; 9 January 1894 – 10 June 1988) was a Polish painter, visual artist and writer. Stażewski has been described as the "father of the Polish avant-garde" and is considered a pivotal figure in the history of Cons ...
, went on to establish the
a.r. group in 1929.
[{{Cite book , last=Turowski , first=Andrzej , title=Konstruktywizm polski: próba rekonstrukcji nurtu 1921–1934 , publisher=Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich , year=1981 , location=Warsaw , language=pl , oclc=644405777]
References
Polish artist groups and collectives