Primary Instincts
Polish Art Foundation
Primary Instincts
22 September – 3 October 2026
opening:
Saturday 26 September, 4-7pm
meet the artists:
Thursday 1 October, 5:30-6:30pm
hours:
Tuesday – Friday: 12pm – 7pm
Saturdays: 12pm – 4pm
admission: Free
..explor[ing] tensions between control and impulse, nature and artifice, reason and sensation, or the conscious and unconscious…
‘PRIMARY INSTINCTS’ is a group exhibition proudly hosted by the Polish Art Foundation, with its home in Melbourne.
In a world mediated by technology, systems and rational frameworks, artists are invited to interpret the concept of Primary Instincts and reflect on what remains immediate, embodied and unfiltered. Works may explore tensions between control and impulse, nature and artifice, reason and sensation, or the conscious and unconscious.
Artists may respond conceptually, emotionally or physically to the theme of instinct as a driving force in human behaviour and creativity.
The exhibition will feature a wide range of voices and visions. Through painting, drawing, mixed media, photography, video, digital media, installation or interdisciplinary practices, artists are invited to respond, exploring what it means to act, create and exist before logic, before structure, before explanation.
The Polish Art Foundation will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2027. A not-for-profit organisation, it was founded in Melbourne in 1977 and has played a distinctive role in promoting artists of Polish heritage within Australia, while also creating opportunities for artistic exchange between Polish, Australian and broader multicultural communities.
The Foundation emerged from a practical act of support for artists who had recently arrived from Europe at that time, giving rise to an organisation dedicated to cultural connection through contemporary visual art. Today, almost five decades later, the Foundation continues to present thematic exhibitions, workshops, social events and collaborative projects, supporting both established and emerging artists.
Its aims include promoting artists of Polish heritage to the Australian community, collaborating with local Australian artists, encouraging contemporary visual art in all its forms, working with aligned cultural institutions and galleries, and building a collection of works for future generations. For more information including our past exhibition catalogues visit www.polishartfoundation.org.au
Curator: Ms Grazyna Kubic
Thursday 1 October, 5:30-6:30pm
Join us for a special Meet the Artists event as part of the Polish Art Foundation’s Primary Instincts exhibition.
Meet participating artists Olga Dziemidowicz and Kasia Dudkiewicz and discover the ideas, inspirations and creative processes behind their work. Enjoy an informal conversation with the artists, with plenty of opportunities to ask questions, explore their artistic practice and hear the stories behind the works.
An engaging afternoon for art lovers, collectors and anyone curious about the creative process.
Olga Dziemidowicz
Olga Dziemidowicz is a Polish-born, Melbourne-based visual artist working across landscape, abstraction and portraiture. Using landscape as a starting point, she works with colour, texture and intuitive mark-making to explore what we notice in nature and the energy and aliveness beneath what we see.
Originally trained as an architect, Olga spent seven years working in service design before turning to art full-time in 2021. She studied visual art at the Victorian College of the Arts and has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions across Australia.
Kasia Dudkiewicz
Kasia Dudkiewicz is a Melbourne-based contemporary fibre artist whose sculptural practice explores tactility, repetition, memory and the emotional language of material. Working predominantly with cotton rope and thread, she uses slow, repetitive hand processes to create richly textured forms that sit between textile and sculpture.
Largely self-taught, her practice has evolved from traditional fibre techniques into a distinctive sculptural language, grounded in the human hand, imperfection and the traces of experience held within the things we make. Her work has gained growing recognition through exhibitions and art prizes across Australia, including selection as a finalist in the 2026 Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize.
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