Utopias of the Present - Krupa Art Foundation Krupa Art Foundation

“We may never touch queerness, but we can feel it as the warm illumination of a horizon imbued with potentiality.”
— José Esteban Muñoz¹

The joint exhibition by Maciej Nowacki and Jaanus Samma presents a selection of works created over the past few years. The artists work across various media, united by their engagement with dominant visual codes, which they deconstruct and radically reinterpret. They weave themes of queer intimacy into their practice and symbolically rewrite grand narratives, introducing identities that have always existed but have often been overlooked.

The gesture of including non-heteronormative microhistories is not merely a fantasy. The subjectivity of individuals marginalized or deemed incompatible with dominant visions of reality was, until recently, either invalidated or sidelined. The selected works of both artists serve as a reminder of the long—and in many cases still ongoing—struggle for visibility and the right to exist.

Utopias of the Present invites reflection on the potential of communities that emerge in defiance of social norms and exclusionary policies. In times of intensifying conservative narratives, the exhibition becomes a space that proposes not only the imagining of alternative worlds but also the daily practice of solidarity and resistance.

Curator: Romuald Demidenko

BUY A TICKET ONLINE OR IN GALLERY

¹José Esteban Muñoz, Cruising Utopia: The Then and There of Queer Futurity. New York, New York University Press, 2009, p. 1.

Artists: Maciej Nowacki, Jaanus Samma
Curator: Romuald Demidenko
Texts: Romuald Demidenko
Curatorial cooperation: Natalia Barczyńska
Visual concept & design: Magdalena Jaskułowska
Lead producer: Agnieszka Marcinowska
Łukasz Bałaciński, Aleksandra Helle, Michał Micach

Proofreading & translation: Aleksandra Helle, Karol Waniek
Promotion: Klaudia Ciepłucha

Acknowledgements: Ania Grochowska, Pat Dudek, Karol Klementewicz, Dariusz Kłosiński, Radosław i Natasza Kotarscy, Aleksandra Liput, Nikita Sinelshchikov, Dana Vitkovski,
Patryk Walaszkowski, Temnikova & Kasela Gallery oraz Katarzyna Młyńczak-Sachs

Support: Ambasada Estonii w Warszawie | Embassy of Estonia in Warsaw

accompanying program

09.10.2025 | exhibition opening | 7:00 PM | get a free ticket here: get ticket
10.10.2025 | artist-curator guided tour | 4:30 PM

Join us every Friday at 6 PM for a guided tour in English – included in your gallery ticket.

Maciej Nowacki, fot. Piotr Czyż

Jaanus Samma fot. Diana Pfammatter

artists

Maciej Nowacki
(b. 1991, Poznań) works primarily in painting, installation, and objects, deconstructing representations of male and queer identities while incorporating personal narratives. He graduated from the University of the Arts Poznań and the Academy of Art in Szczecin. His exhibitions include solo shows Lessons of Darkness at Galerie města Třinec, Czech Republic (2023), Sweet Dance of Doom at Studio PRÁM, Prague (2021), and group exhibitions such as W te dni zgiełkliwe, płomienne i oszałamiające przenoszę się myślą at the Stefan Gierowski Foundation, Warsaw (2021). He is a laureate of the Starak Family Foundation competition and a finalist of the 13th Eugeniusz Geppert Competition in Wrocław.

Jaanus Samma
(b. 1982, Tallinn, Estonia) is a visual artist based in Tallinn. He graduated from the Estonian Academy of Arts with a BA in Graphic Arts (2005) and MFA (2009). His practice encompasses a wide range of media, including graphics, textiles and installations. Drawing inspiration from craft and history, he has extensively researched issues of gender and nationality. Through archival research, he has expanded the conversation around national and sexual identity, offering alternative ways of interpreting the past. His work has been shown at Kumu Art Museum, Tallinn; Nomas Foundation, Rome; Kiasma, Helsinki; HKW, Berlin; Malmö Art Museum; National Museum of Contemporary Art (EMST), Athens; Meet Factory, Prague. Samma represented Estonia at the 56th Venice Biennale and participated in several international biennales.