Witkacy: Paintings—Drawings—Graphics and Archives

Witkacy: Paintings—Drawings—Graphics and Archives is the third permanent exhibition in the history of the Central Pomerania Museum in Słupsk, presenting collections from the world's largest collection of works by Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz. At the same time, it is the only monographic exhibition of Witkacy in Poland.

The exhibition reflects the structure of the Słupsk collection. Works from all periods of the artist's work are shown, especially pastel portraits created within the framework of the one-person Portrait Company "S. I. Witkiewicz" operating in the years 1925–1939. Archives and books are confronted with artistic works, and do not form a separate part of the exhibition. The exhibition includes more than 135 paintings, drawings and graphic works, as well as manuscripts, typescripts, correspondence and books (including those with dedications by Witkacy). The arrangement of the exhibition emphasises the artistic qualities of the works without being competitive or visually distracting.

The exhibition is divided into two parts. Part one shows the evolution of Witkacy's work, its sections being: Zakopane, First Journeys and Experiences, In Russia, Among the Formists, In the World of Pure Form, The Year 1924, The Portrait Company "S. I. Witkiewicz". The second part presents the former private collections of Witkacy's works, from which most of the works collected in the Slupsk museum come. These are the collections of: Włodzimierz Nawrocki, Jan and Janina Leszczyński, Modesta Zwolińska, the Głogowski family and Teodor Białynicki-Birula.

A separate place is devoted to the presentation of conservation issues, where one can see, for example, a pane of glass with pastel flecks and a portrait that used to be behind it. The exhibition is accompanied by films about, among other things, the history of the Słupsk collection, and a special newspaper entitled Witkacy, published in Polish and English, in which the various parts of the exhibition are discussed. At the multimedia stations, visitors can search for portraits according to criteria of their choice, e.g. year of creation or type of drugs used, and trace how the colour of the paper on which Witkacy drew has changed over the years. The glass walls of the storeroom of Witkacy's works of art make it possible to peep into those parts of the museum which are usually hidden from the visitor's eye.