Born in Poznan, Poland, in 1939.
Lives and works in Łódż, Poland.
Józef Robakowski graduated from the Department of Fine Arts of the Nicolaus Copernicus
University in Toruń and the Camera Department of the Film, Television
and Theatre State Academy in Łódź.
Between 1970 and 1981 he was a lecturer at the Film, Television, and Theatre State Academy in Łódź. He
was a co-founder of the Avantgarde group „Zero-61” operating in Toruń
from 1961 to 1969 and groups „Oko”, "STKF”, „Petla” and „Krag”.
Co-organizer of Film Form Workshop and Television Creative Group Station
„L” in Łódź, which undertook experimental work connecting film,
picture, and sound, permanently entering the Polish arena of conceptual
and post-conceptual art of the 70s.
He works with films, photographic
series, videotapes, installations, drawings, objects, conceptual
projects and initiates many events, exhibitions, and artistic actions.
He is also an editor and theoretical critic of contemporary art. He has
exhibited in some of the world’s most important museums, such as Tate
Modern, Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, and the Centre Georges Pompidou
in Paris.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2021
The Artist Is Present, MOCAK Kraków, PL
Józef Robakowski - Art As Energy!, Baltic Gallery of Contemporary Art Ustka, Ustka, PL.
2017
Nearer – Farther Luigi Pecci Centre for Contemporary Art, Prato, IT.
Art Encounters 2nd edition. Life A User's Manual, Art Encounters, Timisoara, RO.
2015
Józef Robakowski - Szpula energetyczna| Energetic Reel , lokal_30, Warsaw, PL.
The Living Gallery. Art of the 1970s in a Film by Józef Robakowski, Profile Foundation, Warsaw, PL.
Józef Robakowski - Józef R.’s Little Video-Theatre, Galeria Labirynt - BWA Lublin, Lublin, PL.
WRO Media Art Biennale, Wroclaw, PL.
2013
Der Linie nach, ZAK | BRANICKA, Berlin, DE.
WRO Media Art Biennale: Pioneering Values, Wroclaw, PL.
2012
Jozef Robakowski. The Handshake, ZKM Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, DE.
My Own Cinema, Centre for Contemporary Art, Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw, PL. Apocalypse, 13 muz, Szczecin, PL.
Der Linie nach, Gallery ŻAK | BRANICKA, Berlin, DE.
Istota Idei, National Museum in Gdansk, PL.
Front Wschodni, Atlas Sztuki, Lodz, PL.
The Unseen - The Fourth Guangzhou Triennial, Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangszhou, CN.
2011
Concept Photography from Poland, Freies Museum Berlin, Berlin, DE.
P A R T I CO L A R E. Paths of democracy, 54th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale, Signum Foundation, Palazzo Donà, Venice, IT.
Józef Robakowski, MINI/Goethe-Institut Curatorial Residencies Ludlow 38, N.Y., US.
3rd Athens Biennale 2011 - MONODROME, Athens, GR.
2010
Peep Generation, Museum Sztuki, Lodz, PL.
A Part of No-Part: Parallelisms Between Then and Now, Chelsea Art Museum, NY, US.
2009
WITKACY – ROBAKOWSKI: Confidence Men, Gallery ŻAK | BRANICKA, Berlin, DE. Wystawa Śląskiej Kolekcji Sztuki Współczesnej, Galeria Śląska BWA, Bielsko Biala, PL.
2008
Regard-Camera, Portrait de l’artiste en spectateur, Centre d’art contemporain de la Ferme du Buisson, Marne-la-Vallee, FR
So ist es und anderes (Porządki urojone), Museum Abteiberg, Mönchengladbach, DE.
The Way Things Are..., CSW (CoCA), Torun, PL.
1, 2, 3... Avant-Gardes: Film/Art Between Experiment and Archive, (Analytical Strategies),Tate Modern, London, UK.
Bunkier Sztuki Collection, Galeria Starego Browaru, Poznan, PL.
VideoZone, The 4th International Video Art, Biennale in Israel, CCA, Tel Aviv, ISR,
Collection of 20th and 21st Century Art, ms2 (Muzeum Sztuki), Łodz, PL.
I will, WUK / Kunsthalle, Vienna, AT.
2007
Józef Robakowski PERSON!, Cinematheque Ontario, Toronto, CAN. Documenta 12, Film Programme, BALI Kinos, Kassel, DE.
Delusive Orders, Museum of Art, Łódż, PL.
Analogue: Pioneering Video from the UK, Canada and Poland (1968-88), MOCCA- Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, Toronto, CAN.
Miragges of Józef R. (Retrospective), Museum of Art, Łódż, PL.
The Second Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art, Moscow, RUS.
Antyphotography, 5th Photo Biennale, Arsenal Gallery, Poznan, PL.
Polish photography in the 20th Century, Palac Kultury i Nauki, Warsaw, PL.
Concrete Legacy: from le Corbusier to the Homeboys, Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw, PL.
Nachbarn. Deutsche Motive in polnischer Gegenwartskunst, Kultur Forum Altona, Hamburg, DE.
Time Remembered. Mala Gallery 1977-2006, Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw, PL.
Die Zweite Avantgarde das Fotoforum Kassel 1972-1982, Foundation Moritzburg (Kunstmuseum), Halle, DE.
Art till it Hurts, Galerie Magazin, Berlin, DE.
2006
Analogue: Pioneering Artists „Video from Poland (1968-1988)”, Tate Modern, London, UK. One-Minute Films, Tate Modern, London, UK.
The Other City, Trafo Gallery, Budapest, HUN.
The Energy of Remittance, Austrian Cultural Forum, Warsaw, PL.
In Poland, That is Where?, Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw, PL. European Festival of Performance, Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw, PL.
20th Century in the Polish Photograpy, Collection of the Museum of Art in Łódż, Nugata City Art Museum, JAP.
Tranzit - Auditorium, Stage, Backstage, Eine Ausstellung in 32 Szenen, Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt am Main, DE.
1, 2 , 3... AVANT–GARDE, Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw, PL. Weak Foundations, Momenta Art, Brooklyn, New York, USA.
E-Flux Video Rental, Arthouse at the Jones Center-Contemporary Art for Texas, Austin, USA. You Cannot Come Closer, Cell-Project Space, London, UK.
Fighting Poland, Christine Koenig Galerie, Vienna, A.
En compagnie de Joseph Robakowski Les Yeux de l’Oui, Nancy, FR
Józef Robakowski - In Person, Austrian Museum of Film, Vienna, A.
2005
EGOCENTRIC, IMMORAL, OUTMODED Zacheta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw, PL. WRO 05 Media Art Biennale WRO Center for Media Art, Wroclaw, PL.
e-flux VIDEO RENTAL, KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin, DE.
Józef Robakowski (Telekiner and Polish Found Footage), TTT Gallery, London, UK. Józef Robakowski (Special-Energetic Pictures), 51 International Days of Short Films, Oberhausen, DE.
Art... Is Never Wrong (The Workshop of the Film Form 1970-1977), Neues Museum Weserburg, Bremen, DE.
Spaces of Intimacy (Contemporary Polish Photography and Video Art), National
Two Asias, Two Europes, Duolun Museum of Modern Art, Shanghai, CN.
2004
Malerei II (O.Holzapfel, F.Nitsche, J.Robakowski, M.Vater), Johnen + Schoettle Gallery, Cologne, DE.
Memoires Du Temps De L’Immaturite, Passage de Retz, Paris, FR
The Workshop Of The Film Form 1970-77, Electronic Arts Intermix, New York, USA. Collected Views From East Or West, Generali Foundation, Vienna, AT.
Warsaw - Moscow 1900-2000, Zacheta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw, PL.
De Ma Fenetre Des Artistes Et Leurs Territoires, Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris, FR
Video Zone 2, Center for Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv, IL.
2003
Von Monument Zum Markt (Polish Video Art), Podewil, Berlin, DE. Comportement Energetique, Galerie Satellite, Paris, FR
Energetische Ecken - Józef Robakowski, Museum of Modern Art, Huenfeld, DE. Organic Pictures 1958/2003 - Józef Robakowski, 86 Gallery, Łódż, PL.
Found Footage in Poland, Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw, PL. Turbulent Screen, Edith - Russ - Haus für Medienkunst, Oldenburg, DE.
A Short History Of Polish Avant-Garde And Experimental Film, Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA.
Rafal Bujnowski / Jozef Robakowski, Galerie Ruediger / Schoettle, Munich, DE.
2002
15th Stuttgart Filmwinter, Festival for Expanded Media, Stuttgart, DE.
Around Decade, Museum of Art, Łódż, PL.
Robakowski / Cahen, Zacheta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw, PL.
Changing Places, Index The Swedish Contemporary Art Foundation, Stockholm, SWE. From My Window - Video Show, Anthony Wilkinson Gallery, London, UK.
Atelier of Mondrian I Minimal Art, Museum of Art, Łódż, PL.
Video Zone, 1st Biennale of Video Art, Tel Aviv, IL.
Person / Zeit / Raum – Photographie from Poland, Museum of Contemporary Art, Salzburg, AT.
2001
18 Kasseler Dokumentarfilm und Videofest, Kassel, DE. 5th Graz Biennal On Media And Architecture, Graz, AT. Videonale, Kunstverein, Bonn, DE.
Selbstbildenisse, Neues Museum Weserburg, Bremen, DE.
2000
Negotiators of Art – Facing Reality, Centre for Contemporary Art, Bathause, Gdansk, PL.
The Workshop Of The Film Form 1970-77, Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw, PL.
Samizdat (Alternative Kultur in Zentral und Osteuropa: Die 60er bis 80er Jahre), Akademie der Künste, Berlin, DE.
From My Window (solo show), Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt am Main, DE. Pologne 1970-1990 (film-video), Cinédoc, Paris, FR
Construction in Process (VII edition), District Museum, Bydgoszcz, PL.
2000 + Arteast Collection, Museum of Modern Art, Ljubljana, SLO.
1999
Global Conceptualism: Points of Origin 1950s-1980s, Queens Museum of Art, NY, US. Translocation (new)media art; Generali Foundation, Vienna, AT.
8th Biennal of Moving Images, Centre for Contemporary Images, Saint-Gérvais, Génenve, CH.
1998
The Łódż Film School Of Poland: 50 Years, Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA. Avantgarde films and videos from Central Europe, The LUX Centre, London, UK. Body And The East, Museum of Modern Art, Ljubljana, SLO.
1997
Polish Art 1945-1996, Mucsarnok Gallery, Budapest, HUN.
Energetic Picture, Arsenal Gallery, Poznan; Bunkier Sztuki Gallery, Krakow, PL. Contemporary Polish Photography, Ernst Museum, Budapest, HUN.
1996
The Butterfly Effect, Mucsarnok Gallery, Budapest, HUN.
Projections, Les Transports De L’Image, Studio le Fresnoy, Tourcoing, FR
1995
LAB 5 International Film, Video and Computer Art Exhibition, Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw, PL.
Art of the Energy Mediation, BWA Gallery, Katowice, PL.
1994
Der Riss Im Raum, Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin, D; Zacheta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw, PL. VIP - Video Art in Poland, Museum of Art, Łódż, National Museum, Poznan, PL.
Minima Media (Medienbiennale), Fabrikhallen, Leipzig, DE.
Europa, Europa, Kunst und Ausstellungshalle, Bonn, DE.
1993
Polnische Avantgarde 1930-1990, Neuer Berliner Kunstverein, Berlin, DE.
1992
Lyon / Łódż - La collection du Musée de Łódż, Musée d’Art Contemporain Lyon, FR
Deutscher Videokunst Preis 1992, ZKM, Karlsruhe, DE.
36 London Film Festival, National Film Theatre, London, UK.
1991
New Spaces Of Photography, Museum of Architecture, Wroclaw, PL. 1990 5 Manifestation de Video, Centre Video, Montbeliard, FR
Videonale 4, Kunstverein, Bonn, DE.
1989
What Is Photography (150 Years of Photography), Mánes, Prague, CZ. 1988 International Festival of Video and Electronic Art, Locarno, CZ.
1987
Private Photography (Out of Eastern Europe), Massachussets, USA.
1985
Polish Avant-Garde, Culturel Centre, Brechen/Antwerp, BE.
1983
Kunst Mit Photographie, Nationalgalerie, Berlin, Kunstverein Cologne, Stadtmuseum Munich,
Kunsthalle, Kiel, DE.
Presence Polonaises, Centre Pompidou, Paris, FR
1982
Biennale Of Sydney, New South Wales Institute of Technology, Sydney, AUS.
1981
De Pologne: 9 artists d’avant-garde (film, video, photo, musique, texte), Raffinerie du Plan K,
Bruxelles, BE.
Construction in Process, BUDREM Hall, Łódż, PL.
1980
Foto Medium Art, Aai Gallery, Tokio, JAP.
1979
3. International Avant-Garde Film Festival, National Theatre, London, UK.
Works And Words, De Appel, Amsterdam, NL.
Experiment’79, Netherlands Filmmuseum and Stedelk Museum, Amsterdam, NL. Film As Film (Formal Experiment in Film 1910-1975), Hayward Gallery, London, UK.
1978
5-th Triennale of Drawing, Museum of Architecture, Wroclaw, PL.
1977
Documenta 6 (Experimental Film Section), Museum Fridericianum, Kassel, DE.
Oosteuropese Conceptuele Fotografie, Technische Hogeschool, Eindhoven, NL. 1976 Video - Film - Photo - Text show, De Appel, Amsterdam, NL.
Video Art, Labirynt Gallery, Lublin, PL.
Workshop Film Form (film - video exhibition), ICC, Antwerp, BE.
1975
Aspects of Polish Contemporary Art, Wspolczesna Gallery, Warsaw, PL. 1974 Actual Art In Eastern Europe, ICC, Antwerp, BE.
Photography As Art - Art As Photography, Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Chalonsur-
Saône, F; Fotoforum, Kassel, DE.
1973
Remittance from Łódż, Sao Paulo Biennale, BRA.
Polska’73, Exhibition of Polish Contemporary Art, CAYC, Buenos Aires, ARG.
1972
ATELIER-72, Polish Contemporary Art Exhibition, Demarco Gallery, Edinburgh, UK.
Combattimento Per Un’Immagine (fotografi e pittori), Il Museo Civico di Torino, I.
Searching Photographers, Fotokina, Cologne, DE.
1971
Searching Photographers, Wspolczesna Gallery, Warsaw, PL. 1970 Photographic Forms, LTF Gallery, Łódż, PL.
1969
Ferrier, exhibition of the Grupy ZERO-61, Torun, PL.
1968
Polish Subiective Photography, BWA Pavilion, Krakow, PL.
From 1961 untill 1969 participation in many exhibitions of Torun art formations
(ZERO-61, Stowarzyszenie KRAG, Tworczy Klub Filmowy PETLA)
1961
Photo Exhibition of the OKO Group, KMPiK, Torun, PL.
1959
Overall Polish Exhibition of Art Photography, GTF, Gliwice, PL.
