“The Ark” exhibition marks the debut of Krupa Gallery in London.
Presented in Krupa’s new London space, formerly home to the historic Pakenham Arms pub, THE ARK exhibition draws inspiration from the rich history of the venue. For over a century, this iconic place in central London was a hub for community, celebration, and cultural exchange – a cultural landmark where locals and travelers alike came together. Now reimagined as a gallery, the space becomes a catalyst for exploring questions of community and the origins of humanity.
Expanding its territorial reach, Krupa Gallery’s 2025 programme will foster dialogue between its two locations. Functioning like a spatio-temporal portal, the gallery’s activities in Wrocław and London will intertwine, often engaging with the unique context of each site. With a quarter of the 21st century behind us, we enter an era shaped by both retrospection and nostalgia, as well as new beginnings. This duality resonates in the work of the artists we have invited to collaborate with us this year – they explore themes of time, shifting corporeality, and the impact of human activity on both a global and individual scale.
An exhibition embodying a new beginning, THE ARK symbolically inaugurates this space, much like the ceremonial launching of a ship. The title itself evokes images of transition: entrances, passageways, and portals. The featured works recall the ethos of the pub as a place of community, becoming a symbolic waypoint on an ongoing journey towards relationships, self-discovery, evolving values, and questioning the nature of humanity. The artists confront the viewer with contrasts between the primordial and the industrial, the human and the mythical, constructing hybrid entities and a world in which humanity, as we conceive it today, is no longer the dominant force. The exhibition creates a space for multidimensional reflection on the fluidity of genders, bodies, relationships, places, and moments – where life paths and interspecies connections intertwine and overlap, dissolving the boundaries of space-time and territory.
image: Paweł Baśnik, “Hybrid (4)”, 50x40cm, 2024