Krzysztof Gierałtowski

Polish Individualities

Black and white photographic portraits of famous Polish writers, artists, architects, actors, and directors

Conference hall

20.08.2019—22.09.2019

ROSPHOTO, in partnership with Polish Institute in Saint Petersburg, presents the project Polish Individualities by photographer Krzysztof Gierałtowski.

In 1972‒1995, Gierałtowski created an array of black and white photographic portraits of famous Polish writers, artists, architects, actors, and directors. In 2009, he carefully picked 44 photographs, which he edited and supplemented with short comments in Polish, English, French, and Spanish, telling personal stories of encounters with his models. The project, known as Polish Individualities, was carried out under the patronage of the National Library in Warsaw.

As the author puts it, “The idea of a portfolio encompassing my early black and white portraits was recurring in my daily life, despite my devotion to color, which has prevailed in my attitude to photography over the course of 21 years.”

The exhibition is part of the Polish Film Week in Saint Petersburg.

Free admission

Highlights

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Krzysztof Kieślowski, 1941–1996
Weary with fighting for release of his another film, Krzysztof Kieślowski, kept rubbing his eyes. I found the director’s gesture symptomatic.

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Krzysztof Jasiński, 1943
Instead of wrapping my hero in the glib “Cracow Echo” daily, I would have gladly had his face printed with the current news. The photo did not find favour with the censor. Regrettably, the dream cherished by Krzysztof Jasiński, of having his STU Theatre renamed National, did not come true with our reaching maturity.

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Erwin Axer, 1917–2012
Stage director Erwin Axer strikes me as a magician of theatre’s daily fabric. I went to meet him equipped with a camera and a lens. We scrutinised each other’s faces through the two ‘objectives’.

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Tadeusz Brzozowski, 1918–1987
In his studio in Zakopane I saw a snapshot of Tadeusz Brzozowski, as the Prince in Kantor’s World War II production of Balladyna by Słowacki. I spontaneously said, ‘You are the Prince of Polish painters.’ The artist immediately crowned himself with a prop cut out of cardboard.

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Tadeusz Pióro, 1920–2010
There are symbols and there are symbolic gestures. In June 1981, I attended a meeting of scholars composing the “Experience and Future” group. I saw a man who had behaved in a way symbolic of our situation. He was brigadier-general Tadeusz Pióro, 1920, who had resigned his post back in 1967.

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Jerzy Maksymiuk, 1936
Talent and effort combined, the latter rising above any accepted norms, this sums up the conductor Jerzy Maksymiuk, creator of the Polish Chamber Orchestra. He accepted a clown’s mask, “because so said Gierałtowski, and I trust him,” which was a source of unique satisfaction to me.

Installation photos

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About the author

Krzysztof Gierałtowski

Krzysztof Gierałtowski is a member of the Association of Polish Art Photographers ZPAF and the Association of Authors ZAiKS; corresponding Member of the German Photography Society DGPh. In 2007, Minister of Culture of Poland awarded Krzysztof Gierałtowski with Gloria Artis silver medal for Merit to Culture. In 2013, the photographer received the Award of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage in Visual Arts.

His work was exhibited at art galleries in Europe, the USA, and Japan.