The house, where one of Poland’s best-known postwar artists spent the final years of his career, will become a branch of the Elektrownia Mazovian Centre of Contemporary Art in Radom, 100 kilometers south of the Polish capital.
The center will also receive eight Fangor works as part of its permanent collection, while another 224 paintings, posters and installations will be placed there on deposit by a foundation that promotes his work.
Elektrownia already owns 30 works by the artist.
The Błędów property, southwest of Warsaw, is a former mill beside the Mogielanka River, surrounded by parkland. Fangor lived and worked there with his wife, Magdalena Shummer-Fangor, after returning to Poland following decades abroad.
Much of the house has survived as the couple left it. It contains original furniture, paintings and personal objects, while Fangor’s studio retains its original layout, including his easel and paints.
"The Wojciech Fangor House is much more than a building; it is a place marked by the artist’s presence, a witness to his work and daily life," Mazovian Province Chairman Adam Struzik said.
He said preserving the property would allow future visitors to encounter Fangor’s work in the surroundings in which it was created.
Wioletta Kotkowska, director of Elektrownia, said the house would not operate as a conventional museum.
"We want to tell the artist’s story through the space in which he lived and worked, while also showing visitors lesser-known aspects of his work," she said.
Plans for the grounds include an outdoor sculpture gallery and a new exhibition pavilion.
Among the objects remaining in the house is Fangor's favorite armchair, which he brought back from the United States in 1999, as well as the family dining table where he had his customary place.
Elektrownia will separately acquire a wooden table and six chairs painted by Fangor as part of the eight works entering its collection.
Fangor, who lived from 1922 to 2015, was a painter, graphic artist and poster designer. He became internationally known for abstract works using blurred circles, color and optical effects to create a sense of movement and space.
In 1970, he became the first Polish artist to receive a solo exhibition at New York's Guggenheim Museum.
After 38 years abroad, including more than three decades in the United States, he returned to Poland in 1999 and later settled in Błędów, where he continued to work until the final years of his life.
(rt/gs)
Source: dzieje.pl