The opening of the retrospective exhibition "Stefan Knapp. Alchemist and visionary" at the Toruń Centre for Contemporary Art "Marks of Time" attracted crowds, and the exhibition is already open and delights visitors until May 31! Relations with social media and cultural sites highlight the success of the opening, and I invite you warmly to the Center for Contemporary Art in Toruń (gen. Sikorski 13).
Opening on February 20, 2026. Official opening of the exhibition.
We were all family there, and we saw a huge crowd of visitors admiring sculptures and emalias at the opening, and the whole room filled with guests, That was amazing.
The opening on February 20 at 19:00 was an event of the year: the CSW hall was vibrant with artists, curators, representatives of the city and the UMK, celebrating the 80th anniversary of the university. Halo Toruń recounts crowds and emotions around monumental works; Facebook UMK praises the exhibition as a culmination of the celebrations, with more than 110 works on display. Culture.pl published a photo gallery from the opening, highlighting Knapp's emigration context. Social media CSW Toruń and Instagram pulsate with accounts – from the video from the assembly to photos from the crowdly attended opening.
Photos from the opening of the exhibition on 20 February 2026.
Preparations for the exhibition and involvement of the UMK
The whole exhibition began with contact from the University of Cathy Knapp and presenting her idea not only for the exhibition, but also for digitization of the collections remaining from Stefan Knapp's life. The whole process was then agreed for several months, during which employees of the University, sometimes along with me, visited Cathy Knapp to determine the details of the contract, the selection of works, the supervision of transport, etc.
This process was led by the curator of the exhibition, Katarzyna Moskała.
After accepting work at the Toruń UMK, the conservation team put months of work into the restaurant of more than 110 works from 1945 to 1996: enamels on steel were cleaned and advanced methods, sculptures were stabilized, tapestries and objects like tree roots were preserved carefully. Particular reference is made to the preservation of enamel on steel, which is a highly technologically advanced process, beginning with mechanical cleaning, through chemical stabilization, restoration of defects on protective coatings, ending. The UMK had already taken care of the astronomical mosaic in the Aula (from 1973, a tribute to the university on the occasion of the anniversary of the Uprising) – the largest in Poland. In addition, attention should be paid to the details of the exposure: minimalist backgrounds, anti-reflective paints, sightseeing paths, multimedia devices and precise LEDs that enhance the enamel layers without overheating.
Thanks to Katarzyna Moskała, the CSW team, the UMK experts and the UMK office for the dazzling exhibition!
Knapp's family at the opening
The artist's family traveled from all over the world: from Bilgoraj (the birthplace of Knapp in 1921), through Britain (his home from the 1960s to 1996), to New Zealand (where relatives settled). Closers shared their memories on the vernissage, emphasizing the global legacy of an emigrant who operated in more than 30 countries.
What on the open display
The largest retrospective since 1974: oil/acrylic paintings, ink, tapestries, enamels on steel (Knapp's invention), bronze/aluminium sculptures and design objects – the curatorial system shows evolution from minor forms to monumental ones. Thanks to the lighting and decor, the emalas pulsate with colours, referring to the Toruń mosaic of the UMK.
The exhibition presents more than 110 works from 1945–1996, borrowed mainly from the Stefan Knapp Estate Foundation in Great Britain and the collection of Paweł Sokołowski. The full list of titles and details is not publicly available in online sources – only descriptions of the category of works are available, without inventory.
Categories of work at the exhibition
According to official CSW descriptions, the exposure includes the following types of works (a total of more than 110 items):
| Category of works | Description and examples of techniques | Number (approximate) |
|---|---|---|
| Paintings on canvas | Oils and acrylics, style evolution from abstraction to monumental forms | Approximately 30–40 |
| Carcases on paper | Drawings and sketches from the early post-war period | Okay. 20. |
| Gobelins | Tissue works combining painting with fabric | 1 |
| Emails on steel plates | Large format, durable works – Knapp's invention (e.g. inspired by the UMK mosaic) | Approximately 30–40 |
| Sculptures | Of bronze and aluminium, abstract spatial forms | Approximately 15–20 |
| Lamps and objects | Of tree roots, acrylic – design elements | Ok. 10 |
| Multimedia presentation | Combine real elements of enamel with pulsating dynamic visualization of mural present on the wall of UMK | 1 |
Links to photos and sources
- Facebook CSW Toruń: https://www.facebook.com/csw.torun/ – video and opening photos.
- Facebook UMK: https://www.facebook.com/University of MikolajaCopernika/... – official opening accounts.
Author: Paweł Sokołowski
