Małgorzata Mirga-Tas
Małgorzata Mirga-Tas
credits/courtesy © Ina Lekiewicz
The work of Romani artist, educator, and activist Małgorzata Mirga-Tas (Zakopane, 1978) addresses anti-Roma stereotypes and engages in building an affirmative iconography of Roma communities. Her art depicts everyday life: relationships, alliances, and shared activities. Mirga-Tas’s vibrant textile collages are created from materials and fabrics collected from family and friends, imbuing them with a life of their own and a corresponding immediacy. Textiles made of curtains, jewellery, shirts, and sheets are sewn together to form “microcarriers” of history, with the resulting images revising macro perspectives. Her vibrant works offer a rare opportunity to see the Roma in their own terms, both as a contemporary community and as a people with a rich heritage.
Mirga-Tas’s portrayals adopt the perspective of “minority feminism”, consciously advocating for women’s strength while acknowledging the artist’s cultural roots. She was the official Polish representative at the 59th Venice Biennale in 2022, the first Roma artist to represent any country. She graduated from the Faculty of Sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow in 2004. Her works have been presented in numerous solo and group exhibitions, including: Bonnefanten, Maastricht (2024); Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo, Sevilla (2023/2024); Kortrijk Triennial, Kortrijk (2024); Barbican, London (2023); Brücke Museum, Berlin (2023); 14th Gwangju Biennale, Gwangju (2023); Göteborgs Konsthall, Göteborg (2023); documenta15, Kassel (2022); International Cultural Centre, Krakow (2022); Guangzhou Triennial, Guangzhou (2022); 11th Berlin Biennial (2020); Art Encounters Biennial, Timișoara (2019, 2021); 3rd Autostrada Biennale, Prizren (2021); Moravian Gallery, Brno (2017); Polish Sculpture Centre, Orońsko (2020) and the Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw (2020). She lives and works in Czarna Góra. Мирга-Тас у својим радовима користи перспективу „мањинског феминизма”, свесно агитујући за женску снагу, док истовремено одаје признање и својим културним коренима. Била је званична представница Пољске на 59. Бијеналу у Венецији 2022. године, и прва Ромкиња која је икада представљала било коју земљу. Дипломирала је на Факултету за вајарство Академије ликовних уметности у Кракову 2004. године. Радове је представљала на многобројним самосталним и групним изложбама: Bonnefanten, Мастрихт (2024); Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo, Севиља (2023/2024); Kortrijk Triennial, Кортрајк (2024); Барбикан, Лондон (2023); Brücke Museum, Берлин (2023); 14. Бијенале у Квангџу, Квангџу (2023); Göteborgs Konsthall, Гетеборг (2023); documenta15, Касел (2022); Међународни културни центар, Краков (2022); Тријенале у Гуангџоу, Гуангџоу (2022); 11. Берлински бијенале, Берлин (2020); Бијенални уметнички сусрети, Темишвар (2019, 2021); 3. Аутострада бијенале, Призрен (2021); Моравска галерија, Брнo (2017); Пољски вајарски центар, Оронско (2020) и Музеј савремене уметности, Варшава (2020). Живи и ради у Чарној Гори.
1
Still on the Journey, 2024, mixed media, patchwork, acrylic paint, 245 x 340 cm
Photo credits: Konstmuseum Västerås
5
Besien ando kham (Sitting in the sun), 2023, textile, acrylic paint, mixed media, on wooden stretcher, 92 x 92 cm
Photo credits: Nicolas Duc
Courtesy of the artist and Karma International, Zurich
Still on the Journey, 2024, mixed media, patchwork, acrylic paint, 245 x 340 cm
Photo credits: Konstmuseum Västerås
Besien ando kham (Sitting in the sun), 2023, textile, acrylic paint, mixed media, on wooden stretcher, 92 x 92 cm
Photo credits: Nicolas Duc
Courtesy of the artist and Karma International, Zurich