The exhibition, featuring works by 33 artists from Poland, Belarus, Canada and Japan, born between 1976 and 2001, is based on Radosław Kotarski's collection and will be the first such extensive public presentation of his private collection. The titular 'house' will be presented as a physical structure in which relationships and memories accumulate, a structure that lives through our emotions. The authors of the works show this both metaphorically – sometimes even entering the realm of non-representational art – and literally. As in reality, the existence of both ‘houses’ is parallel, offering fluid passages not only between night and day, but also between reality and dreams, consciousness and subconsciousness, matter and spirit, body and soul. It is a collection of scenes, afterimages, micro-histories, dreamlike visions, emotional portraits that do not form a uniform narrative. It is a backdrop for everyday events, joyful moments, intimate raptures, as well as dramas and conflicts, oppression and loneliness. Even in happy homes at night, when the lights go out and the conversations fall silent, a person is left alone with themselves, being a refuge or, on the contrary, a prison for themselves.
Radosław Kotarski's collection, which has been in the making since 2018, is unique in that it was created out of a need to tell stories and an awareness of the cognitive role of art. Art that can be a life-changing experience for the viewer and a tool for critical reflection. The collection is based on the author's criterion of seven minutes as the minimum duration of a story, which is to provoke contact with a work of art. Initially, the journalist and YouTuber was interested in post-avant-garde artists such as Ryszard Winiarski, Leon Tarasewicz and representatives of op art, including Jan Ziemski, Andrzej Nowacki and Ferruccio Garda. The belief that art should be viewed rather than stored in warehouses influenced the decision to limit the collection to 250 works. The paintings are displayed on a daily basis at the collector's friends' homes and in friendly venues so that they can have an impact on viewers. The selection of works for the exhibition at MOCAK, although dictated by the main theme of the exhibition, reflects the formal diversity of the collection and its artistic representation. Kotarski's collection includes works by established and widely recognised artists, as well as aspiring artists, with a predominance of contemporary art created by women.
