Conservation in full go. Assemblages by Maksymilian Kasprowicz

Maksymilian ‘Max’ Kasprowicz (1906–1986) was one of the most important artists associated with Gdynia, whose work is included in the collection of the Gdynia City Museum – the largest collection in Poland, comprising nearly 600 items. The year 2026 marks the 120th anniversary of the artist’s birth and, at the same time, 40 years since his death. The 100th anniversary of our city is an excellent opportunity to commemorate this extraordinary artist, teacher and active participant in artistic life.

Maksymilian Kasprowicz, pic. author unknown, Archives of Gdynia City Museum

‘Max’ Kasprowicz was born in Swarzędz on 12 October 1906. He studied in Poznań, and in 1935 he settled permanently by the sea – in Gdynia. He began his teaching career after the war at the Art Centre in Sopot and the State Secondary School of Fine Arts in Sopot, and then ran a drawing studio at the State Higher School of Fine Arts (PWSSP) in Sopot. In Gdynia, he reorganised the branch of the Association of Polish Artists and Designers, and in Gdańsk, he served as vice-dean and dean of the Faculty of Painting at the PWSSP. He received numerous awards for his artistic and teaching activities, went on study trips to Egypt and other European countries, and participated in many group and individual exhibitions. He left behind a rich legacy – from paintings and graphics to drawings, sketches, graphic matrices (woodcuts) and assemblages made using his own technique.

The exhibition presents 12 works by Kasprowicz created in the 1970s and 1980s. They are united by technique – the artist described them as collages, but today we call them assemblages, i.e. compositions made of everyday objects: gloves, cans, labels and packaging. To create them, the artist used about 130 gloves and over 500 elements made of materials of various origins. Max was able to give them new life and arrange them into multi-layered, symbolic works.

Feeling responsible for our collection, we have been making every effort for years to protect Maksymilian Kasprowicz’s legacy from the effects of time. Thanks to the work of conservator Tatiana Srokowska, who is becoming increasingly familiar with the artist’s work, many secrets of his technique have been uncovered. She preserves every trace left by the artist – signatures, stickers, labels – symbols of the communist era. The exhibition not only showcases the results of the conservation work, but also features a film revealing the behind-the-scenes aspects of her work.

Ważnym wątkiem ekspozycji jest także 55. rocznica Grudnia ’70. Kasprowicz udokumentował w swoich pracach dramat tamtych dni w Gdyni, a ekspozycji towarzyszą fotografie ze zbiorów Muzeum Miasta Gdyni i Instytutu Pamięci Narodowej w Gdańsku, prezentowane na tablecie.

Another important theme of the exhibition is the 55th anniversary of December 1970. Kasprowicz documented the terror of those days in Gdynia in his works. Also, the exhibition is accompanied by photographs from the collection of the Gdynia City Museum and the Institute of National Remembrance in Gdańsk, which will be presented on a tablet.

The exhibition is an encounter with an artist who closely observed reality and current trends in art, pioneered artistic recycling in Pomerania, and gave ordinary things extraordinary meaning.

Katarzyna Gec-Leśniak

Production of the exhibition

The exhibition is part of the project entitled ‘Conservation of 12 assemblages by Maksymilian Kasprowicz on the 100th anniversary of Gdynia’. Co-financed by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage from the Culture Promotion Fund – a state special-purpose fund.

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