Paulina Olowska: The Revenge of the Wise Woman

Encompassing painting, sculpture, printmaking, neon, and performance, Olowska’s distinctive practice is a multisensorial world of mysterious women, rural imagery, and folkloric influences infused with Eastern European culture, politics, and poetry. Best known for her iconic performances such as Alphabet (2005) and Naughty Nymphs in the Courtyard of the Favorites (2022), Olowska has staged performances at several iconic venues including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; The Kitchen, New York; the Tate Modern, London; the Carnegie International in Pittsburgh and most recently, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Kistefos Museum, Norway.

In The Revenge of the Wise Woman, Dovan inhabits Olowska’s female protagonist, wearing an elaborate hand painted dress as she recites a monologue, typing on an old-fashioned typewriter. Resisting narrative, Olowska’s performance is deeply rooted in the traditions of experimental theatre and the legacy of avant-garde 20th century art movements such as Dada and Surrealism. Olowska has constructed the bespoke monologue from excerpts of her latest book titled Her Hauntology, which features essays by Jan Verwoert, Kate Smith, and Jason Rosenfeld. The script is a complex and layered aural collage that abstractly reflects on the role of women through history and today, while also meditating on a diverse range of themes such as ghosts, friendships, collaboration, artist muses, and fellow female artists including Zofia Stryjeńska, Pauline Boty, and Alina Szapocznikow.

At the core of Olowska’s practice is an examination of the representation of women in contemporary culture. By centering female protagonists, Olowska roots her expansive practice in feminist ideologies, interrogating the systemic narratives and conventions of womanhood, modernity, and gender identity.

“A flight into the stratosphere! The headlines are shouting. An interplanetary spacecraft! I’m reflecting on how incredibly often new inventions have recently “exploded”. How, not so long ago, our nanny lit a kerosene lamp in our room. You went with mommy to dancing lessons, learning the waltz, the quadrille, the mazurka. And then suddenly the war – Verdun – the jazz band – aero planes – sports – radio – ether anesthetics – automobiles – sound movies – television – bolshevism – poisonous gasses – the submarine – vitamins – all that within less than twenty-five years! Faster! Faster!”

- Zofia Stryjenska, 1995