Aleksandra Kubiak
Poland
Visual artist, author of films, texts, performances, and spatial forms. From 2001 to 2013, she was a member of the Sędzia Główny (Chief Judge) group.
About the artist
Aleksandra Kubiak (born 1978 in Lubań) - an interdisciplinary artist. Between 2001 and 2013 she co-founded the Sędzia Główny group with Karolina Wiktor. Since 2010, she has been developing her solo practice, focusing on an autobiographical series of works situated at the intersection of performance, documentary film, theatre and literature. Working with actors and people invited to collaborate on her projects, she creates scripts, texts and performative pieces in which personal experience serves as a starting point for reflection on memory, trauma, violence, grief and healing processes. Her most significant works include the films: Dolce Vita (2011), You're beautiful, doll (pl. Śliczna jesteś Laleczko; 2016), Elephant Meat (pl. Mięso Słonia; 2017), Live, You Fool! (pl. Żyj, głuptasie; 2019) and Mru thought of him (pl. Myślała o nim Mru; 2020).
A significant part of her practice also consists of socially engaged performative actions and delegated performances, including Baraca, Sanus Design, They are special. They shine (pl. One są szczególne. Błyszczą) and Position of strength (pl. Pozycja Siły).
Text is a key element of the artist's practice. The forms she creates lie somewhere between autobiography, poetry, performance and drama, functioning both as a standalone literary works and as pieces presented in galleries and on theatre stages, including What Do You Still Need This Heart For? To Love (pl. Po co Ci jeszcze to serce? Żeby kochać; TR Warsaw/TR Warszawa), Reading (pl. Czytanie; Brain Club/Klub Mózg in Bydgoszcz) and Beneath the Skin of My Home (pl. Pod skórą mojego domu; Consulate of Culture in Gdynia/Konsulat Kultury w Gdyni).
Artist behind solo exhibitions, including You're Beautiful, Doll (pl. Śliczna jesteś, Laleczko; 2017, Zachęta - National Art Gallery, curated by Marta Miś), Air in the House (pl. Powietrze w domu; 2017, MOS Gorzów, curated by Marta Gendera) and I Made a Model of You (2019, CSW Kronika in Bytom and BWA Zielona Góra, curated by Agata Cukierska), Wild Bees Live Under the Skin of My Home (pl. Pod skórą mojego domu żyją dzikie pszczoły; 2026, Museum of the Lubusz Region in Zielona Góra).
In 2023, a monograph dedicated to the artist's work was published - I'll Make a Heart (pl. Zrobię serce) edited by Anna Łazar (published by BWA Zielona Góra in collaboration with Zachęta - the National Art Gallery and the Institute of Visual Arts at the University of Zielona Góra).