A street named after Wojciech Fangor

On 9 October 2024 in Warsaw, a ceremony was held to name one of the streets in the city centre after Wojciech Fangor. Wojciech Fangor, an renowned painter, graphic artist, poster designer, sculptor, architect, photographer, theoretician and astronomer, creator of monumental decorations for the World Youth Festival, interior design of the Warszawa Śródmieście railway station and 7 stations of the second line of the Warsaw subway, was honoured by the decision of the Warsaw City Council. The street is located next to the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, which houses both Fangor’s Archive and his last monumental spatial structure MSzN dedicated to the Museum’s new headquarters.

During the ceremony, Warsaw Deputy Mayor Aldona Machnowska-Góra highlighted the symbolic value of the location: “Naming this street after Wojciech Fangor helps shape the symbolic landscape of the city. I am pleased that this space reflects Warsaw’s cultural heritage”.

Fangor was born, lived, and worked in Warsaw until 1961. Although he achieved great international success in the 1960s while living abroad in Austria, Paris, Berlin, London, and New York, Warsaw remained central to his artistic roots. It was here, collaborating with teams from the Artistic Research Workshops, and with artists like Jerzy Tchórzewski, Henryk Tomaszewski, Oskar Hansen, and, above all, the artist’s closest collaborator and friend Stanisław Zamecznik, that Fangor developed his key artistic approach of using space as an artistic medium.

Ewa Malinowska-Grupińska, Chairwoman of the City Council, recognized Fangor’s contribution to Warsaw’s cultural scene. She noted: “Fangor was, is, and will always be connected to Warsaw. The impressive design of our metro stations is thanks to both the artist and our decision to have the city shaped by exceptional creators”.

The artist’s family was represented by Piotr Patkowski – President of the FANGOR Foundation, who in his speech expressed his gratitude for honouring Fangor, emphasising the appropriateness of the location of the new street: “This street will always be a guide for Fangor’s art lovers and future generations discovering his work”.