Miroslaw Balka

The work of sculptor and video artist Miroslaw Balka addresses European history 20th-century to the present, with an emphasis on how institutions and aesthetics have radically shaped the organization of societies. His work is therefore filled with references to continental philosophy, as well as allusions to the Holocaust, and its formal qualities are in line with post-minimalist art production. Balka often creates immersive environments or opts for small, singular objects in order to engage viewers in unique sensory experiences that can be both personally and collectively felt. For his acclaimed 2009 installation How It Is, which was staged in the Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall, Balka constructed a railcar-sized black sculpture. Visitors were invited to enter the dark, ominous structure, which called to mind the vivid imagery of recent Polish history. 

Balka has exhibited his work widely throughout Europe, Asia, and the Americas since the early 1980s. Major exhibitions include shows at the Museum for Contemporary Art Kiasma in Helsinki, the Centre for Contemporary Art in Warsaw, the Tate Modern in London, and the FRAC Centre in Orléans, France.