Władysław Hasior Gallery in Zakopane

The Władysław Hasior Gallery (Galeria Władysława Hasiora) is a branch of the Tatra Museum in Zakopane devoted to one of the boldest Polish sculptors of the 20th century. Hasior (1928–1999) was born in Nowy Sącz and studied at the State School of Art Techniques in Zakopane under the outstanding teacher Antoni Kenar, then at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw and in Ossip Zadkine's studio in Paris. Later he himself taught for many years at the Zakopane school, and today his works are held by museums in Kraków, Warsaw, Helsinki, Paris, Stockholm, Oslo and São Paulo. Hasior is regarded as one of the pioneers of assemblage in Poland: he turned used and often discarded objects into art.

The gallery occupies an unusual building — a former wooden rest pavilion (leżakownia) of the Warszawianka tuberculosis sanatorium, built in 1935 to a design by Wacław Nowakowski. The two-storey pavilion with a glazed southern wall was once used for open-air rest cures. In December 1984 the works were moved here from the artist's cramped studio, and the gallery opened in February 1985. Hasior arranged multi-level exhibition rooms, a concert hall and his own flat and studio in the building; he held meetings with the public here, showed slides, and presented contemporary artists in the temporary exhibition room. After the restoration of the Tatra Museum's wooden buildings, the gallery reopened to visitors on 15 May 2021, during the Night of Museums.

What to see

• The "Banners" (Sztandary) — Hasior's best-known cycle (1965–1975): processional banners assembled from fabric, metal, dolls, tools and found objects.
• Assemblages and spatial compositions made of ordinary things, which the artist gave ironic, metaphorical titles — they make you think about the modern world and about art itself.
• The interior as a single installation: Hasior built up the gallery space himself over the years, with light, music and huge mirrors in which the exhibits multiply and seem to detach from reality.
• Temporary exhibitions — the gallery regularly holds them in a separate room.

Some of Hasior's works stand in the open air: in Zakopane the monument to the mountain rescuers (1959), in Kuźnice the monument to executed partisans, and on the Snozka Pass near Czorsztyn the monumental "Organs". The artist himself is buried in the Zakopane Cemetery of the Meritorious at Pęksowy Brzyzek.

Practical information

The gallery stands on Jagiellońska Street, about 600 m from Krupówki, so it is an easy 10-minute walk from the centre of Zakopane. Car access and the entrance are currently from Piaseckiego Street; a small car park is behind the building at Piaseckiego 13. The gallery is open all year and closed on Wednesdays. On Thursdays the permanent exhibition is free, and the Tatra Museum's weekly ticket covers all its branches, including the nearby Koliba and Oksza villas. Allow about an hour for a visit. The interiors are on several levels with stairs; the museum has a separate information page for visitors with disabilities — it is best to phone in advance. Hasior's art can be dark and provocative, so small children may need some explanation; teenagers and adults interested in modern art usually love the gallery.

Nearby: trails and peaks

Half a kilometre from the gallery runs our trail Antałówka – Gubałówka, upper funicular station: you can combine a morning in the museum with a walk up to Gubałówka — viewpoint ridge above Zakopane, with its panorama of the Tatras. In town, visit the Tatra Museum in Zakopane and the Old Church and Pęksowy Brzyzek Cemetery, where Hasior is buried. Another Tatra Museum branch with 20th-century art is Villa Oksza.

Official website: muzeumtatrzanskie.pl

Photos: Збигнев Вансел, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons; ليخ, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.