Here Comes Youth! First Krakow Group

“We represented the provinces – coarse, hungry, fervent, unspoiled by mannerisms and with no connections to the Cracovian Olympus,” Jonasz Stern recalls the activities of the First Krakow Group – an interwar association founded by students from the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow. As well as Stern, they included Aleksander (Sasza) Blonder, Blima (Berta) Grünberg, Maria Jarema, Franciszek Jaźwiecki, Leopold Lewicki, Adam Marczyński, Stanisław Osostowicz, Szymon Piasecki, Mojżesz Schwanenfeld, Bolesław Stawiński, Eugeniusz Waniek, Henryk Wiciński and Aleksander Winnicki. Frequently described as Poland’s last interwar avant-garde, the group was only active between 1933 and 1937, although the short years were very prolific. The exhibition held at the Szołayski House by the National Museum in Krakow, presents almost 300 artworks including drawings, prints, stage designs, sculptures and paintings illustrating the diversity of works created by the left-leaning artists and expressing their deep belief that they can change the world. (dd)