Luxus Group

LUXUS was an art group from Wrocław that was active between 1983 and 1995. It was widely considered one of the most significant phenomena in Polish art from the end of the 1980s to the beginning of the 1990s, involving exhibitions, installations, publications, happenings, and actions. The group formed at the famous "314 studio" at the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław, and while the members of LUXUS changed, the group itself remained democratic and heterogeneous. The group's most active members throughout the years included Paweł Jarodzki, Ewa Ciepielewska, Bożena Grzyb-Jarodzka, Jerzy Kosałka, Marek Czechowski, Artur Gołacki, Małgorzata Plata, Stanisław Sielicki, Jacek Jankowski, Szymon Lubiński, Andrzej Jarodzki, Krzysztof Kubiak, and Krzysztof Kłosowicz. The artists associated with LUXUS were from Wrocław's countercultural milieu, including music groups such as Miki Mausoleum, Klaus Mitffoch, and Kormorany, as well as artists.

LUXUS began with the publication of a fanzine called Luxus magazine by Paweł Jarodzki and his friends from the same studio, Ewa Ciepcielewska, Bożena Grzyb-Jarodzka, Andrzej Jarodzki, and Artur Gołacki, during the strike at the Academy of Fine Arts in 1981. The magazine was initially created by hand, using stencils, prints, and drawings. Its topics revolved around demythologising politics, sex, rock music, and pop-art motifs. According to Paweł Jarodzki, it was supposed to fill the gap and give an aesthetic counter-offer. The magazine used images, catchphrases, and mental shortcuts, which made it comparable to comic book aesthetics.

The LUXUS group was formed while working on the magazine, with Paweł Jarodzki acting as the group's leader. The formation of the group formalised the social relations among the artists – friends with a similar artistic sensitivity and attitude toward reality. In 1984, the group began taking part in exhibitions, which they called "demonstrations," as well as organising various actions. LUXUS's distinctive aesthetics had a big influence on the development of Wrocław's art scene. The group's efforts were based on creating popular art that was easy to make and widely available, which was a way of dissociating themselves from the then-ruling "academism" of conceptual art. One of the group's slogans cried out "Attraction Instead of Abstraction."