Polish American Contemporary Art addresses identity in the global and American cultures by investigating how American artists of Polish heritage relate to their ethnic identity. The show runs simultaneously with exhibitions on contemporary Polish art at the Chicago Cultural Center, The Art Institute of Chicago, The Museum of Contemporary Art, The Renaissance Society, and Gallery 400. For her, Polish and American cultures are part of this process.
Poles have extensive experience functioning within the global model.
First, Poland has always been a crossroads of European cultures, and then later it was part of the failed Marxist utopian experiment in creating a universal culture in Central and Eastern Europe. She says Chicago also embodies the blend of global and local cultural relationships as well demonstrated by the artists of its large Polish community. The 24 participating artists, predominantly from the Chicago area, are contributing to the cultural discussion concerning individual and artistic identities. Some artists have found connections with contemporary Polish traditions of constructivism, personal expressions of existential problems, and conceptualism. On the other hand, others have found more connections with American issues of cyberspace, psychological states, and spirituality.