Dorota Gawęda & Eglė Kulbokaitė

Dorota Gawęda (b. 1986, Poland) and Eglė Kulbokaitė (b. 1987, Lithuania) are an artist duo established in 2013 and based in Basel (CH). Both are graduates of the Royal College of Art in London (2012). Their work spans performance, fragrance, sculpture, installation, painting and video. They have exhibited internationally including: HeK, Basel (2021); Kunstverein Hamburg (2021); Bündner Kunstmuseum, Chur (2021); Kunstverein Leipzig (2021); Swiss Institute, New York (2020); Den Frie, Copenhagen (2020); MWW, Wroclaw (2020); Kunstverein Düsseldorf (2020 and 2016); Lafayette Anticipations, Paris (2019); Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2018); 6th Athens Biennale (2018); MMOMA, Moscow (2018); Kunsthalle Basel (2017); ICA, London (2017); MOMA, Warsaw (2016); Berlin Biennale 9 (2016); MaM, Paris (2015) among others. Their solo exhibitions included presentations at Istituto Svizzero, Palermo (2021) Swimming Pool Projects, Sofia (2021); Lucas Hirsch Gallery, Düsseldorf (2021); Julia Stoschek Collection, Düsseldorf (2020); Trafo Gallery, Budapest (2020); Amanda Wilkinson Gallery, London (2020 and 2018); Fri Art – Centre d’Art de Fribourg / Kunsthalle Fribourg and Wallriss (2020); Futura, Prague (2019); Cell Project Space, London (2018). They have also participated in numerous international residencies, including Alserkal Arts Foundation, Dubai (UAE); La Becque, La Tour-de-Peilz (CH); Onassis AiR, Athens (GR). Gawęda and Kulbokaitė are the recipients of the Basler Medienkunstpreis (2021) and Swiss Performance Art Award (2021), as well as nominees for Prix Mobilière (2022). The duo is also the founder of YOUNG GIRL READING GROUP ( 2013 - 2021 ).

Gawęda and Eglė Kulbokaitė were the recipients of the 2021 Collide Award. In 2022, the artist duo will extend their collaborative practice during a two-month residency at CERN, working with scientists, engineers and staff of the Laboratory. Later, they will spend one month in Barcelona connecting and engaging in dialogue with scientists from the city while being hosted at the Hangar Centre for Art Research and Production. Deriving from Polish rural folklore, their winning proposal Gusla is inspired by how quantum physics exposes the ‘weirdness’ of the living world. Engaging with concepts of fundamental physics and drawing on Eastern European summoning rituals, their ‘Gusla’ artistic research calls forth speculative worlds and fictions.