The exhibition “Tadeusz Kantor (1915–1990). Emballage, Cricotage and Madame Jarema” is the fifth presentation of Polish art organized by the Starak Family Foundation in Venice including presentations of the work of Ryszard Winiarski (2017), Ewa Kuryluk (2022) and Andrzej Wróblewski (2024) as Collateral Events of the Venice Biennale.
The exhibition, as a further Collateral Event takes place from May 9 to November 22, 2026, once again in the historic and highly prestigious venue of the Procuratie Vecchie in St. Mark’s Square, the heart of Venice.

“Tadeusz Kantor (1915-1990). Emballage, Cricotage and Madame Jarema” is an exhibition devoted to the relationship and work of Tadeusz Kantor and Maria Jarema, leading representatives of the post-war avant-garde. Internationally acclaimed, Tadeusz Kantor was an artist whose work defined Polish identity in his impressive “Theater of Love and Death” giving it the dimension of a universal spectacle that seduced and fascinated audiences from Europe to Asia and the Americas. His theater, stage designs and directing, his modern understanding of acting combined with an extraordinary sensitivity touching on the most subtle strings of the human condition made the experience of his art interpreted with equal intensity regardless of where it was performed.

The exhibition in Venice will present the most important threads of Tadeusz Kantor’s painting accompanied by original props and objects from his performances, including a selection of informel compositions from the late 1950s and early 1960s, emballages from 1964-1978, and his last painting series, “Dalej już nic” (Further On, Nothing) (1987–1990) and “Cholernie spadam” ( I’m Goddamn Falling!) (1988–1990). An important remembrance of the process of creating informel compositions will be the film “Uwaga, malarstwo” (Attention, Painting) made by Antoni Nurzyński and Mieczysław Waśkowski based on Kantor’s concept. The film was presented for the first time during the 29th Venice Biennale and received a mention at the 1st International Art Film Competition as the only work of a non-didactic nature. Tadeusz Kantor was a featured artists in the Polish Pavilion at the following edition of the Venice Biennale in 1960,

An important theme of the exhibition will be the presentation of the work of Maria Jarema (1908–1958). As a co-founder of the pre-war avant-garde theatre Cricot and co-founder of Cricot 2, she was one of the key formative figures for Kantor. Maria Jarema, an outstanding painter and sculptor, awarded a prize at the Venice Biennale in 1958, remained the only person whose opinion Kantor fully trusted. Their relationship—a fascination and intellectual partnership—became the basis for the formation of Cricot 2. The exhibition will feature monotypes from the Starak Collection and her costume designs for Kantor’s early theatre productions: Mątwa (The Cuttlefish) from 1956 and Cyrk (Circus) from 1957.

The exhibition’s content supporter is CRICOTEKA – Centre for Documentation of the Art of Tadeusz Kantor. Cricoteka was founded in Krakow in 1980 at the initiative of Tadeusz Kantor to serve as a living archive of the Cricot 2 Theater. Cricoteka stores, presents and safeguards the collection of theatrical works from Tadeusz Kantor’s performances. Cricoteka is a museum, an archive, a gallery, and a research center all in one.

The exhibition will feature works by Tadeusz Kantor from the Starak Collection, Muzeum Sztuki in Łódź, and the Cricoteka collection, as well as works by Maria Jarema from the Starak Collection.

Tadeusz Kantor (1915-1990). Emballage, Cricotage and Madame Jarema
Collateral Event of the 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia
May 9 – November 22, 2026.
Location: Procuratie Vecchie, Piazza San Marco 139 – 153/A  30124 Venice
Founders: Anna Woźniak-Starak i Jerzy Starak
Promotor: Fundacja Rodziny Staraków
Curator: Ania Muszyńska
Curatorial Team: Magdalena Marczak-Cerońska, Kama Kieremkampt

More information: https://kantorfoundation.pl/en/tadeusz-kantor-1915-1990-emballage-cricotage-and-madame-jarema/