Performance artist, painter, sculptor, and scenographer.

He was born in 1939 in Warsaw, since 1981 he has been living and working in New York. Between 1962 and 1968 he studied at the Faculty of Painting and Graphic Arts at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, in the studios of Professor Jan Wodyński and Professor Stefan Gierowski. In 1968, he graduated with honours.

An intermedia and multimedia artist, performer, creator of films, photographs, assemblages, objects and installations, painter and set designer. He is one of the pioneers and most outstanding figures in the field of performance art in Poland, a discipline he has been actively involved in since 1971. Zarębski’s first work involving the audience was the happening Flowers, presented at the Women’s League Club in Warsaw. In his work, he explores themes of the body, eroticism and sexuality, combined with highly sophisticated stagings in which he utilises fetish-like props (bread with a crack from which a lily grows, a shower from which chives emerge, a false set of teeth placed in a pot of grass, hair frozen in ice). In 1972, Zarębski developed the concept of ‘contact zones’, which became central to his practice. Contact zones are a subtle form of communication between humans, nature and objects, the aim of which was to discover new fields of artistic practice. In his work, Zarębski used many organic ‘props’, including grass, chives, soil, snails, leeches and, above all, the human body – both female and his own.

Zarębski carried out many of his artistic projects in collaboration with his wife, Krystyna Jachniewicz – a painter – thereby blurring the boundary between art and everyday life (including the films Untitled and Osmosis). Jachniewicz took part in many of his performances.

From the very beginning, Krzysztof Zarębski’s creative work was interdisciplinary in nature. A very important element of his art was his collaboration with other artists: theatre directors, musicians, composers and filmmakers. His work was significantly influenced by his collaboration with the eminent theatre director Helmut Kajzar between 1974 and 1981, with whom he co-created the experimental ‘theatre of meta-everyday life’, introducing into theatre productions such as Rycerz Andrzej, +++ (Three Crosses) and Villa dei misteri, as well as performance art, installations and environmental art, whilst also co-designing the set designs for these productions. In the late 1970s, Zarębski collaborated with Kazimierz Braun on Tadeusz Różewicz’s play Natural Increase at the Contemporary Theatre in Wrocław. One element of the play was a ‘living gallery’, in which the artist had gathered objects and sculptures submerged in gradually melting ice. In the early 1990s, Zarębski returned to theatre set design, creating the set for Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days, directed by Andrzej Bubień, also in Wrocław.

Sound and music played an equally important role in Zarębski’s work. The artist collaborated with musicians, including Władysław Jagiełło and John King, as well as composers such as Stephen Montague and Krzysztof Knittel.

In 1981, Zarębski moved to the United States, where he has lived and worked ever since. During this time, his work has evolved from ephemeral pieces towards a greater focus on materiality. Objects or fragments of objects formed the material for his installations and sculptures, assembled or fastened using screws, wire or string. As in his earlier works, he also uses them in his performances, before restoring them to the status of objects. A common material that the artist used from the very beginning was audio tape and vinyl records (Freezing Sound and Dialogue from 1974, Guitar from 1988, Instrument from 1992, and Messages 2 from 1995). The objects were often embedded in Plexiglas. In 1983, Zarębski met the artists who would later form the group The Rivington School. They used to meet at the No Se No club, and later at the gallery of the same name that was established there. It was there that Zarębski exhibited, amongst other things, ice sculptures. After the gallery closed, the Rivington Sculpture Garden remained – a site where the artists created a huge installation from urban waste, which also features works by Zarębski.

 

Selected solo exhibitions:

2016

Dark Place Behind the Door, Galeria Monopol, Warsaw, PL (with Łukasz Korolkiewicz)

2013

Krzysztof Zarębski: Photographs 1972–2012, CREON Gallery, New York, USA

2012

Priap’s Garden – installation, video, art objects, CREON Gallery, New York, USA

2010

Alicja Zebrowska and Krzysztof Zarębski, Manhattan Gallery, Łódź, PL

Filogeneza, ODA Gallery, Piotrków Trybunalski, PL

VOLTA NY (Art NEW media Gallery), New York, USA

Krzysztof Zarębski 1970. Erotematy Słabnącego Erosa, Art New Media Gallery, Warsaw, PL

Lustishis Flower, Galeria Bielska BWA, Bielsko-Biala, PL

One night show, foyer of Martin E. Segal Theatre Center, New York, USA

2008

Dedykacje, XX1 Gallery, Warsaw, PL

2004

Krzysztof Zarębski. New Works, Roshkowska Gallery, Windham, USA

2003

Krzysztof Zarębski’s Films and Videos 1972–2003, Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw, PL

1999

Water Nymphs, Pardo Sheehan Gallery, New York, USA

1996

Fingernails on Parade – Call Girls, Zachęta National Art Gallery, Warsaw, PL

1992

Documantation 1972-1992 and art installation, Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw, PL

Krzysztof Zarębski. Installation (With Sound and Leeches), Labirynt 2 Gallery, Lublin, PL

1990

PAAS Gallery, New York, USA

1989

One twenty eight Gallery, New York, USA

1988

NOW Gallery, New York, USA

Tobe Art Gallery, New York, USA

1985

Freddie The Dreamer Gallery, New York, USA

Zones with Bridges (Frozen Erection), (with Krystyna Jachniewicz), NADA Gallery, New York, USA

1980

Działania, Gallery “M”, Warsaw, PL

Galeria Krytyków, Warsaw, PL

1978

Labirynt Gallery, Lublin, PL

1977

Warm Air, Repassage Gallery, Warsaw, PL

1976

Labirynt Gallery, Lublin, PL

1975

Vanersborg Museum, Vanersborg, SE

1974

Dialogue, Repassage Gallery, Warsaw, PL

Cosmetics Corner, Remont Gallery, Warsaw, PL

Zones of Contact, Remont Gallery, Warsaw, PL

The Freezing of Sound, Bureau de la Poesie (Biuro Poezji), Warsaw, PL

1973

Galeria Współczesna (MPiK Club), Warsaw, PL

Labirynt Gallery, Lublin, PL

Osmosis, Remont Gallery, Warsaw, PL

1972

Paintings and documentation 1970-1971, BWA Gallery, Lublin, PL

Intuitive Cooperation, Sigma Club, Warsaw, PL

1969

Salon Debiutów Gallery, Warsaw, PL

 

Selected group exhibitions:

2025

Don’t Ask About Poland, Centre for Contemporary Art, Toruń, PL

2020

The Power of Secrets, Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art, Warsaw, PL

2016

Notes from the Underground, Museum of Art, Łódź, PL

2015

The Wild West. A history of Wrocław’s Avant-garde, Zachęta — National Gallery of Art, Warsaw, PL

2014

Report on the Construction of a Spaceship Module, New Museum, New York, USA

2012

Disturbed Images. CUT in art, Museum of Imagination, Hudson, New York, USA

Disturbed Images. CUT in art part 2, Museum of Imagination, Hudson, New York, USA

Mois de la Photo a Paris, Galerie Roi Dore, Paris, FR

Where is PERMAFO?, Wroclaw Contemporary Museum, Wroclaw, PL

2010

Post Gogol. The Silent Absence of the Body, SLAG Gallery, New York, USA

Works from the BWA – Lublin Collection, Towarzystwo Zachęty Sztuki Współczesnej, Lviv, UA

2009

International Collection of Contemporary Art 5, Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw, PL

Shit Corner: No Excuses. Small Works Summer Exhibitions. A Year in Review, 15 Corson Gallery, New York, USA

2008

1,2,3… Avant-Gardes.Film / Artbetween Experiment and Archive, Tate Modern, London, UK

KRAJ: sztuka artystów z polskim rodowodem, Galeria Sztuki Współczesnej, Opole, PL

Screening I: Quilt of Projections, 15 Corson Gallery, New York, USA

Screening II: Screen Test Ad Infinitum, 15 Corson Gallery, New York, USA

Supernovas: A Modern Survey, The Kymara Gallery, Biddeford, Maine, USA

2007

Aleksander Jachniewicz Presents: Krystyna Jachniewicz and Krzysztof Zarębski 1981-2007, Shandelee Studio, Shandelee, USA

Dowcip i Władza Sadzenia. Asteizm w Polsce, Galeria Program, Warsaw, PL

Poza, Real Art Ways, Hartford, USA

Redtape Magazine, 25th Anniversary, Tribes Gallery, New York, USA

On Ice, Lafayette College Art Gallery, Easton, PA, USA

Fresh View, Art for Healing, New York, USA

2006

Plastic Fantastic, The Shorev Institute of Contemporary Art, Long Branch, USA

Hot Summer of Philocracy, Silent Space Gallery, Kingston, USA

1,2,3… Awangarda, Eksperyment, Film, Sztuka, Archiwum, Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw, PL

2005

Botany 5000, The Lab Gallery, New York, USA

2004

Malewicz w Polsce, Arsenal Gallery, Białystok, PL

BWA Collection, Labirynt 2 Gallery, Lublin, PL

2003

Comportement Energetique, Galerie Satellite, Paris, FR

Inside the Cooler, Cooler Gallery, White River Junction, USA

Transfusion, Fusion Arts Museum, New York, USA

2002

Autonomous Conceptual Movement in Poland, BWA Gallery, Lublin, PL

2001

Express Art from New York, Lattuada Gallery, Milan, IT

1999

Rewind/Fast Forward, Onetwentyeight Gallery, New York, USA

Universal Comunicativity, Onetwentyeight Gallery, New York, USA

1998

Cyber Recycling, The Piano Store, New York, USA

One on One Part 2, Max Fish, New York, USA

Sourpuss, Abraham Lubelski Gallery, New York, USA

Text no Text. Mallarme’s Effect on Artists, Tompkins College Center Gallery, Allentown, USA

1997

Heat, Pardo Wiev Gallery, New York, USA

Condensation, Pardo View Gallery, New York, USA

Focus on Poland, Anderson Center For The Arts, Binhampton, USA

Generations, Zachęta — National Gallery of Art, Warsaw, PL

1996

Inaugural Exhibition, Pardo Wiev Gallery, New York, USA

Sculptor’s Drawings, Pardo View Gallery, New York, USA

1995

Spring Overview, Onetwentyeight Gallery, New York, USA

The Deviant Playground, CSV Cultural Center, New York, USA

VI International Triennial of Drawing. Art as Thought, Art as Energy, Wroclaw, PL

1994

Open House, Space 2B, New York, USA

20-lecie programu artystycznego Galerii Labirynt, BWA Gallery, Lublin, PL

1993

Blasted Bodies/Wasted Wonder, Gas Station, New York, USA

Redtape Magazine #7, USA club, New York, USA

Repassage, Repassage 2, Sigma, Zachęta National Art Gallery, Warsaw, PL

Top 5.5 Sculpteurs de Pologne, Marseille, FR

1992

Beauty, Michael Kazan’s Townhouse of Beauty, New York, USA

Angel Orensanz Foundation, New York, USA

1991

Jesteśmy, Zachęta National Art Gallery, Warsaw, PL

New York Diary: Almost 25 Different Things, PS1 Museum, New York, USA

Coniunctio 2000.Art as Alchemyinto the 21st Century, Cb’s 313 Gallery, New York, USA

Flying Possibility, Morina Gallery, New York, USA

Contemporary American Baroque, Cb’s 313 Gallery, New York, USA

Sztuka Performance, Galeria Stara, BWA, Lublin, PL

1990

Museum Modern Art, Huenfeld, DE

3 artists show, Studio Gallery Bedford Hills, New York, USA

1989

The Rivington School, AFR Fine Arts, Washington DC, USA

Open House Gallery, New York, USA

1988

OKI Gallery, Innsbruck, AU

Works from suitcases, Dziekanka Gallery, Warsaw, PL

Rivington School Show, Onetwentyeight Gallery, New York, USA

1987

The Late Show Disciples, NO SE NO Gallery, New York, USA

The Second Coming, Dramatis Personae Gallery, New York, USA

Rivington School Show, Onetwentyeight Gallery, New York, USA

Eye of a Storm, Tamura Gallery, Tokio; Art Space lesBois, Osaka, JP

Artist Space, Nishinomiya, JP

International Contemporary Art Exhibition, City Museum, Osaka, JP

1986

Razorsharp, Nolo Contendere Gallery, New York, USA

Cracked Mirror 2, Nico Smith Gallery, New York, USA

1985

Heroine Show, The World, New York, USA

Variety, `A` Gallery, New York, USA

Sculpture Inside-Out, NO SE NO Gallery, New York, USA

The Rivington School NO SE NO Gallery, New York, USA

Mini Max, NOW Gallery, New York, USA

Eastern Europeans in New York, El Bohio Gallery, New York, USA

Apartment Art, Sixth Sense Gallery, New York, USA

1984

Musical Instruments by Artists, Public Image Gallery, New York, USA

Conspiracies, Limbo, New York, USA

East Village Artists Go West, Castways Gallery, New York, USA

Friends, NO SE NO Gallery, New York, USA

Nurt intelektualny w sztuce polskiej po Drugiej Wojnie Światowej, BWA Gallery, Lublin, PL

1981

IX Spotkania Krakowskie, Pawilon Wystawowy BWA, Kraków, PL

II International Triennial of Drawing, Wroclaw, PL

1980

Mohammed, Centro di Comunicazione Ristretta, Genova, IT

1979

Words and Works, De Appel Gallery, Amsterdam, NL

Erotyka, ZPAP Gallery, Warsaw, PL

1978

Performance and body, Labirynt Gallery, Lublin, PL

Performance Art festival, Beursschouwburg, Brussels, BE

Hommage to Andrzej Matynia, Galeria Krytyków, Warsaw, PL

1977

Body as a Visual Language, Maki Gallery, Tokyo, JP

Projects/Performanceses — Czechoslovakia/Poland, Hallwalls Gallery, Buffalo, USA

1975

7 Artists from Poland, Konsthall, Malmö, SE

1974

International Graphic Biennial, Kraków, PL

Nowa Generacja, Muzeum Narodowe, Wrocław, PL

1973

VIII Biennale Młodych, Paris, FR

Biennale Form Przestrzennych, Elbląg, PL

1972

Polish Contemporary Art, Helsinki, FI

Plakat Autorski, Galeria Współczesna (MPiK Club), Warsaw, PL

1971

Portret Człowieka, Zachęta National Art Gallery, Warsaw, PL

Porównania IV. XXIV Festiwal Sztuk Plastycznych, BWA Gallery, Sopot, PL

Art – demography 2000, Arsenal Gallery, Poznań, PL

Wystawa Młodych, Galeria Współczesna (MPiK Club), Warsaw, PL

Złote Grono, BWA Gallery, Zielona Góra, PL

1970

Informacja. Wyobraźnia. Działanie, Galeria Współczesna, Warsaw, PL

II Festiwal Sztuk Pięknych, Zachęta National Art Gallery, Warsaw, PL

V Festiwal Polskiego Malarstwa Współczesnego, Szczecin, PL

1969

Debiut Absolwentów, Stara Kordegarda Gallery, Warsaw, PL