Retrospective exhibition of Stefan Knapp

The Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, in cooperation with the Centre for Contemporary Art in Toruń, invites you to an exhibition entitled "Stefan Knapp - Alchemist and Visionary". The opening will take place on February 20 at 7:00 p.m. at the Centre for Contemporary Art (13 Wały gen. Sikorskiego St.). Admission is free.

Stefan Knapp, a world-renowned artist from Biłgoraj (Poland), donated a unique panel to the university in 1973, on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of Nicolaus Copernicus' birth, which became a symbol of the Toruń campus. The installation on the wall of the NCU Auditorium consists of an enamelled sculptural composition symbolising the arrangement of celestial bodies with an integrated image of the Toruń astronomer and a sundial. It is one of Knapp's two largest and most important works in Poland.

The exhibition at the Centre for Contemporary Art is the culmination of the celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, which took place in 2025. The exhibition will feature over 110 works by the artist (spanning several decades), including paintings on canvas, ink on paper, enamels on steel plates, and bronze and aluminium sculptures.

It will be the largest exhibition of Stefan Knapp's work in Poland since 1974, featuring works on loan from the British Stefan Knapp Estate Foundation and Paweł Sokołowski's collection. The exhibition will be accompanied by the first monographic academic publication on Stefan Knapp, focusing on the Polish publishing market, and the fifth edition of his autobiography, entitled "Kwadratowe słońce" ("Square Sun").

The exhibition will be open from February 21 to May 31, 2026.

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