We strive to showcase this strength every year, continuing the Association’s tradition, which was established as early as the 1930s, when our predecessors inaugurated the Winter and Spring Salons in Kraków, which were held mainly at the Palace of Art, home of the Society of Friends of the Fine Arts. The tradition we uphold should represent the beauty we preserve, not the bonds that constrain us; it should give meaning to life and connect generations, while also serving as a marker of the future and an openness to new, contemporary challenges. As Katarzyna Grochola said, tradition is ‘…something constant that you always return to, like coming home. Not an apartment.’
We therefore return to our shared home with another Salon, taking place for the eleventh time at the Palace of Art. We return with pleasure, as reflected in the attendance; this year, there are as many as 301 participants. In the spacious exhibition areas, equality prevails, and generations mingle, with young art students accompanying seasoned artists, and pupils displayed alongside their masters. The abundance of creations, the variety of proposals, concepts, and solutions, and the boundless imagination on display can be truly dizzying. It seems that art is omnipresent, its faces innumerable, for each artist, while maintaining their individuality and direction of exploration, is a distinct, original, and unique entity.
The nature of an exhibition such as a Salon is perceived and judged in many ways, ranging from admiration and understanding to rejection and criticism. It is therefore worth reiterating that the idea of the Salons, which originated in 18th century France, serves as a means of summarising and providing an overview of current artistic activity. They do not require a leading theme or participant selection based on one, nor a strict doctrine imposing a particular way of interpreting the whole, or a profound ideology dictated by curatorial ambitions. Instead, they represent an unfettered act of artistic expression, in which every participant is given the opportunity to speak freely. Rare though they are nowadays, exhibitions of this kind are not deemed unacceptable simply for being uncommon or unfashionable. ...)