Zygmunt Rytka | Stones, Ants, and Television Photographic Works 1971–2010

Published in collaboration with Spector Books, this first monographic publication presents the work of Zygmunt Rytka, a legendary multimedia artist and co-creator of the Polish neo-avant-garde of the 1970s and 1980s, whose archive we have been developing for many years. The 280-page publication contains over 440 photographs, as well as essays by David Crowley, Daniel Muzyczuk and Karol Hordziej, alongside archival interviews with the artist. The publication is available in both Polish and English.

Zygmunt Rytka (1947–2018) was an intermedia artist associated with the Polish neo-avant-garde of the 1970s and the independent artistic milieu of the 1980s. In his conceptual practice, he combined philosophical and artistic explorations of nature and perception with ironic reflections on contemporary media and politics. The artist regarded the camera as a tool that not only creates conventions but also begins to shape reality itself.

This book – the first monograph of his photographic work in English – is a comprehensive collection encompassing early conceptual series, works on consumer culture, politically charged analytical studies of the language of mass media, and work focused on the relationship between culture and nature. Commentaries on the series include the artist’s notes, an interview conducted by Anna Maria Leśniewska, and new texts by David Crowley, Karol Hordziej and Daniel Muzyczuk.

Zygmunt Rytka (1947–2018) was a Polish conceptual photographer and intermedia artist. His works are held in collections such as the Museum of Art in Łódź and the Kontakt Collection in Vienna. He collaborated with Mała Gallery in Warsaw, Galeria Wschodnia and Galeria FF in Łódź, and was a co-founder of the In Situ Contemporary Art Foundation. 

Daniel Muzyczuk is acting director of the Museum of Art in Łódź. Karol Hordziej is a curator and lecturer based in Kraków.

TECHNICAL DETAILS:

Publishing: Fundacja Sztuk Wizualnych, Spector Books

Redaktorzy: Karol Hordziej, Daniel Muzyczuk

Texts: Zygmunt Rytka, Anna Maria Leśniewska, Daniel Muzyczuk, David Crowley, Karol Hordziej

Design: Lyosha Kritsuk

Production: Tomasz Gutkowski, Karol Hordziej, Michał Leśniowski, Anne König, Jan Wenzel

Translation: Aleksandra Szymczyk (PL), Ben Koschalka (EN)

Korekta: Anna Szczepańska-Krasoń, Janusz Krasoń (PL), Adrian Lukas Smith (EN) 

Size: 28 × 21 × 1,5 cm

Publication year: 2024

Print run: 550

Softcover

Language: English

ISBN: 978-3-95905-800-1, 978-83-62978-40-3