Krzysztof Franaszek (b. 1981, Lublin, Poland) is a sculptor and visual artist based in Warsaw. He creates sculptures, multimedia installations, and drawings exploring the relationship between human nature and the environment—both real and artificially generated. His practice investigates the tension between creative energy and the destructive forces of time and nature, with a current focus on the primordial nature of the creative act in real and virtual spaces.
Franaszek graduated from the Faculty of Sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw (MA, 2006), where he also earned his PhD in Fine Arts (2013) and habilitation (2021). Since 2006 he has been a faculty member at the Academy, and in 2025 he was appointed Associate Professor. His works have been exhibited internationally in institutions including The Kosciuszko Foundation, New York (2025); Polish Institute Gallery, Düsseldorf (2024); Centre of Polish Sculpture, Orońsko (2021); AV17 Gallery, Vilnius (2021); Casa Matei Gallery, Cluj-Napoca (2021); and Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art, Warsaw (2013). He has also participated in group exhibitions at venues such as the Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw (2022); New Museum, New York (2008); Asian Art Biennale, Dhaka (2018); and Kunstmuseum Stuttgart (2005).
In 2025 he completed an artistic research project at Parsons / The New School in New York, and received the Kościuszko Foundation Award. Franaszek was a resident in Christian Jankowski’s Studio at the Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste Stuttgart (2005) and a grantee of the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage (2009, 2018, 2020, 2026). His works are included in the collections of the Centre of Polish Sculpture in Orońsko, PKO Bank Polski, and numerous private collections in Poland and abroad.
Exhibitions:
2026
The light falls where it wants – Solo exhibition at the LeGuern Gallery, Warsaw, Poland, May – July
Kernos – Solo show at the Phenomena Gallery, Warsaw, Poland, February – March
Modern Freedom – Group Exhibition at the Pilecki Institute USA, New York, May – August
Rotation – Group exhibition at the Pracownia_Wschodnia Gallery, Warsaw May – June
Land Sculpture – The Island – Group Sculpture Exhibition in the Garden, LeGuern Gallery, Warsaw July–August
2025
Superstructure – Solo exhibition, The Kosciuszko Foundation, New York, USA, June
Brightly Illuminated – Cliché Gallery, Warsaw, Poland, March 28 – April
Research_Art project conducted at The Parsons The New School, New York, USA, January–June
Sculpture Symposium – Creation of an outdoor sculpture at the Center for Polish Sculpture, Orońsko, Poland, September
Světlo Valmez Festival— Three installations at the gallery and in public spaces as part of the festival. Czech Republic, September
2024
ÓOÖ – Exhibition, Gallery of the Polish Institute, Düsseldorf, Germany, August – December
Artisterium 17 – Tbilisi International Contemporary Art Exhibition and Art Events – Tbilisi, Georgia, August – October
Autonomous – Light.Move.Festival, Festival of Kinetic Light Art, Łódź, Poland, September
Butterfly Resistance – Exhibition of artists from Poland and Haiti, Studio Gallery, Warsaw, Poland, May – July
2023
Morfa – Solo exhibition, Warsaw Gallery Weekend Audi City Warsaw, with Le Guern Gallery, Warsaw, Poland, October
Blackout – Solo exhibition, Biała Gallery, Lublin, Poland, April – June
Fight for the Streets – Installation exhibition Viaduct, Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw, Poland, October – January
Mediations Biennale 10 Istanbul – International Art Exhibition, Art Feshane, Istanbul, Turkey, October – December
Relief: Everything Is Allowed – Group exhibition, Le Guern Gallery, Warsaw, Poland, August – December
Dipped Bare Feet in Warm Water – Group exhibition, Wizytująca Gallery, Warsaw, Poland, January – March
2022
Trapped Surfaces – Solo exhibition, AV17 Gallery, Vilnius, Lithuania, December – January
Uwięzione powierzchnie / Trapped Surfaces – Solo exhibition, Puławska Art Gallery, Warsaw, Poland, September
Open City – Exhibition in public space, Lublin, Poland, October – November
2021
A Moment Before Disaster – Solo exhibition, Centre of Polish Sculpture, Orońsko, Poland, February
HR6819 – Solo exhibition, Casa Matei Gallery, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, July
de-re-konstrukt – Duo exhibition with Simone Rueß, Le Guern Gallery, Warsaw, Poland, June
2020
Newcomers – PKO Bank Collection, Koneser Centre, Warsaw, Poland, October
Warsaw Praga – Poznań Jeżyce Express – Le Guern Gallery, Warsaw, Poland, December
Poznań Jeżyce – Warsaw Praga Express – Jeżyce Centre of Culture, Poznań, Poland, November
Vienna Contemporary – Art Fair, Vienna, Austria, September
2019
Things That Draw Us In – Solo exhibition, Le Guern Gallery, Warsaw, Poland, February
Omnivores – Solo exhibition, Art Walk Gallery, Warsaw, Poland, May
Now Art – Contemporary Art Festival, Kazimierz Dolny, Poland, December
Self-Portrait – Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath Museum Gallery, Bangalore, India, June
2018
Asian Art Biennale Bangladesh 2018 – Shilpakala Academy, Dhaka, Bangladesh, September
Emotion and Thought – Puławy Cultural Centre, Puławy, Poland, February
2017
Sharpened – Solo exhibition, Korekta Gallery, Warsaw, Poland, February
Cultus Terrae – Tillage – BWA Sokół Gallery, Nowy Sącz, Poland, March
2015
Portal Active – Exhibition in public space, Culture Shock Arts Biennale, Warsaw, Poland, May
2013
Obelisk – Solo exhibition, Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art, Warsaw, Poland, June
2012
Light Hole – Solo exhibition, Cultureshock Gallery, Warsaw, Poland, April
The Centre – Solo exhibition, Academy of Fine Arts Gallery, Warsaw, Poland, February
2011
Accumulation – Solo exhibition, A19 Gallery, Warsaw, Poland, June
Hala – Duo exhibition with Simone Rueß, Poznańska Art Place, Warsaw, Poland, May
2010
Gradient – Solo exhibition, Mała Gallery, Nowy Sącz, Poland, April
Asphalt 2 – Solo exhibition, BWA Grodzka Gallery, Lublin, Poland, January
Divina Silo Art Complex – With international art collective Local to Local, Lithuania, May
2009
Asphalt – Solo exhibition, Studio Gallery, Warsaw, Poland, December
The Site – Project in urban space, Utrecht, Netherlands, February
Move – New European Media Art Exhibition, Halle, Germany, March
2008
Falling Objects – Solo exhibition, Kronika Gallery, Bytom, Poland, March
EuroUfo – Installation in public space, MachtRaum, Berlin, Germany, June
Planet of Fun – Interactive object in public space, Gryfino, Poland, July
Dialogs – 9th International Biennial of Contemporary Art, St. Petersburg, Russia, February
2007
Shut Down – Presentation Under the Skin: New Video from Poland, New Museum, New York, USA, May
EPAF 2007 – Performance Festival, Centre for Contemporary Art, Warsaw, Poland, June
2005
Kunstmuseum – Staatliche Akademie – Group exhibition. Kunstmuseum Stuttgart, Germany, June
Education:
Associate Professor of Fine Arts July 2023
Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw
Dissertation title: Things that Draw Us in – Description of An Indicated Artistic Achievement
Committee: Chairman: professor Andrzej Banachowicz, Reviewer: Arkadiusz Mieczysław Marcinkowski, Reviewer: Rafał Kotwis, Reviewer: professor Jacek Jagielski, Reviewer: professor Mariusz Białecki, Committee Member: Stanisław Brach
PhD in Fine Arts February 2013
Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw
Dissertation title: City Centre Artefacts – Description of An Indicated Artistic Achievement
MA in Fine Arts June 2006
Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw
Research and International Exchange Experience:
Symposium on Contemporary Sculpture “Game of Appearances” – Centre of Polish Sculpture, Orońsko, Poland
September 2025
▪ Participation in a national symposium focused on contemporary approaches to sculpture, materiality, and spatial perception.
▪ Presented a research paper and took part in interdisciplinary discussions on the intersection of sculpture and digital media.
Artistic Research Residency – Parsons / The New School, New York, USA
January – March 2025
▪ Conducted a multidisciplinary research and artistic project exploring the role of primal roots and ethnicity in contemporary multimedia art, focusing on how cultural traditions interact with emerging digital technologies.
▪ Led seminars with first-year students on identity, heritage, and postcolonial narratives in art; presented own artistic practice within historical and iconographic contexts.
▪ Participated in academic exchange with Parsons faculty, contributing to discussions on postcolonial revision and cultural hybridity in the U.S. art context.
▪ Conducted extensive research at Parsons and NYU libraries, complemented by field studies in museums and galleries in New York, Miami, and San Francisco.
▪ Developed the concept of “digital primitivism”, describing parallels between primal creativity and early digital experimentation.
▪ Authored an article published in Art Monitor and produced a solo exhibition combining sculpture, video, and drawing, supported by the Kościuszko Foundation.
Residency Exchange Program – Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw / Academy of Fine Arts in Venice
Venice, Italy, June 2023
▪ Participated in a bilateral residency and academic exchange program between the two institutions.
▪ Conducted consultations and discussion panels focused on creative processes in sculpture and multimedia art.
▪ Explored relationships between traditional and digital techniques, emphasizing hybrid forms of artistic practice and cross-media experimentation.
“Third Dimension of Graphics” – Designing an International MA Curriculum
Warsaw School of Information Technology (WIT), University of Art and Design of Cluj-Napoca (UAD)
September 2019 – September 2021
▪ Co-designed an innovative international MA curriculum integrating 3D modelling, sculpture, and installation art within a Polish–Romanian academic partnership.
▪ The program explored intersections between digital and spatial expression, fostering transdisciplinary collaboration in art education.
“Divina Silo Art Complex”
Plokstine Missile Base, Museum of the Cold War, Lithuania
May 2010
▪ International conceptual art project realized in a former Soviet missile base, exploring the influence of historical and geopolitical context on creative processes.
▪ Included exhibitions, performances, and discussion panels.
“Among Performers and Seagulls”
HKU University of the Arts Utrecht / Impakt Foundation Utrecht, The Netherlands
January – February 2009
▪ Interactive art project in public space; participants developed collaborative works based on audience engagement.
▪ Culminated in a film screening and public discussion at T’Hoogt Cinema, Utrecht.
Conference Presentation
Megabit Bomb Festival – Conference and Festival of Literature by Stanisław Lem
Polish Institute of the Future, Kraków, Poland, September 2021
▪ Five-day interdisciplinary festival connecting culture, science, and technology.
▪ Presented original artworks and research objects alongside distinguished scientists and writers.
Teaching and Academic Experience:
Associate Professor – Sculpture and Multimedia Studio, Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw
2022 – present
Leads the interdepartmental Sculpture and Multimedia Studio for undergraduate and graduate students. The program focuses on spatial and digital practices, encouraging experimentation between traditional and new media. Each academic year culminates in a public exhibition (e.g., Primal Trace, Spokojna Gallery, 2023; JaTyMy, Chapel Gallery, 2024).
Lecturer – Warsaw School of Information Technology (WIT Academy)
2013 – present
Teaches sculpture, digital modelling, and drawing in BA and MA programs. Developed original courses exploring intersections of real and virtual space. Supervises diploma projects in 3D design, digital art, and contemporary visual culture.
Publications:
▪ “Trapped Surfaces”, article co-authored with Raminta Jurenaite, Kultūros Barai art magazine, No. 1–2 / 2022, pp. 96, ISSN 0134-3106
▪ “L’Officiel Art Polska”, interview and portfolio presentation (pp. 268–269), No. 15 / 2021–2022, 330 pp., ISSN 2451-4314
▪ “Newcomers: New Collection for a New Century”, exhibition catalogue, co-author, PKO Bank Foundation, 2021, 263 pp., ISBN 978-83-9532-1-3
▪ “Exhibition Catalogue – Le Guern Gallery 2014–2019”, co-author, 2021, 197 pp., ISBN 978-83-7960-028-1
▪ Monograph “Selected Things”, Krzysztof Franaszek, 2020, 234 pp., ISBN 978-83-7960-024-3
▪ “Autoreferat”, Krzysztof Franaszek, 2020, 123 pp., ISBN 978-83-956133-1-9
▪ “Didactics”, Krzysztof Franaszek, 2020, 189 pp., ISBN 978-83-956133-0-2
Honours and Awards
▪ Kościuszko Foundation Award, scholarship for a research and artistic project in the United States, 2023
▪ Scholarship of the Polish Minister of Culture and National Heritage, 2020
▪ Scholarship of the Polish Minister of Culture and National Heritage, 2018
▪ Scholarship of the Polish Minister of Culture and National Heritage, 2009
Contact:
krzysztof.franaszek@cybis.asp.waw.pl
+48 509 099 710