Chełmoński

Exhibition design 2024 | Józef Chełmoński for the National Museum in Warsaw | Team: lead design Jan Strumiłło, assistant designers Helena Wierzbowska, Adrianna Manista, Paulina Bukowska, Sandra Niczyporuk | Photography by Bartosz Bajerski courtesy of MNW | Exhibition opened on 27.09.2024 and closes on 26.01.2025

We developed our scenographic concept around a colour scheme sampled from the Polish landscape as depicted in the art of Józef Chełmoński. The dark earthy tones provided neutral backdrops for paintings which mostly came complete with massive gilt frames. The browns and greys we selected  define thematic boundaries within the scenario: horse coats, wet earth, dry plants. To counterpoint dark walls we carefully chose the intense yellow as dominant, present on skirting boards, furnishings and in the parts of graphic design we provided. We imagined it as the colour of new plant life, sprouting from the soil, before even the leaves turns green. To amplify this association all pieces of exhibition furniture including benches, display cabinets and catalogue pedestals share a dedicated surface detail. Their sides were machined into vertical convex flutes, reminiscent of crop stalks and intended as metaphor of life and growth. Large surfaces of signature yellow announce the show in the museum’s great hall, spatially preceding the dedicated temporary exhibition rooms. In this entry zone are placed Chełmoński’s paintings from the museum’s own collection as well as a central seating area. On the staircase wall the timeline of Chełmoński’s life is presented. We had it printed onto a low solid sideboard placed beneath a gallery of photographic images hung on a tapestry backdrop. The rich jacquard fabric of our choice has a pleasantly natural, fractal pattern which harmonizes with the sandstone of museum interiors.