Łukasz Stokłosa. The Shining
The exhibition Łukasz Stokłosa. The Shining, presented at the Royal Castle in Warsaw from 16 January to 27 September 2026, showcases the work of one of the most compelling contemporary Polish painters in direct dialogue with the 19th-century historical paintings of Jan Matejko. This encounter between two distinct artistic languages - despite the time that separates them - invites reflection on history, memory, and the significance of seats of power.
The exhibition of Łukasz Stokłosa’s paintings at the Royal Castle in Warsaw offers a reflection on historical painting as displayed within the Castle’s interiors. It brings together two different ways of narrating the past: on the one hand, Jan Matejko’s monumental nineteenth-century narratives; on the other, the calm, figureless paintings of a contemporary artist. Together, they create a space for considering how we perceive history today and the role former royal residences play in the present.
The artist presents almost photographic views of historic interiors, including Ca’ Rezzonico in Venice, Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin, Fontainebleau, Versailles, the Royal Łazienki Museum, and the Royal Castle in Warsaw. Once centres of political and social life and today functioning primarily as museums, these places are depicted by Stokłosa as spaces suspended in time. The silence and emptiness present in his paintings contrast with the narrative grandeur of Matejko’s works.
“The impulse for the exhibition comes from the ongoing conservation work on Jan Matejko’s painting The Sermon of Piotr Skarga. The work has been transferred for the coming months to the Castle’s conservation studio, and the empty space it left behind has become an additional context for presenting Łukasz Stokłosa’s works,” says Izabela Zychowicz, Head of the Art Centre and curator of the exhibition.
Twenty-nine works by the artist are on view in selected interiors along the visitor route of the Royal Castle, including the Matejko Rooms, the Cabinet of Stanisław August, and the Audience Chamber. They have been arranged to engage in dialogue with the historic apartments and old paintings.
About the Artist
Łukasz Stokłosa, A painter born in 1986 at Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, Poland, graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków (2010). He has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions both in Poland and internationally. His works are part of the collections at various prestigious institutions, including the Royal Castle in Warsaw, Wawel Royal Castle, and the MOCAK Museum of Contemporary Art in Krakow, among others.
