The visitors of the Cieslak exhibition will confront cinematic works featuring a high level of narrative intensity and originality. The Polish artist works with all the means available to a silent movie, with the aestheticism of amateur movies on YouTube as well as the elements of found footage. In this way he approaches film as a medium in a completely undogmatic and in part humorous manner. He uses the history of film and myths of media history such as Yuri Gagarin’s flight to space or a Doors concert as material in order to create a highly unconventional film language. Some of his works, such as Doctor Faustus or Cloud Nine, can be seen as bitter satires of the art world.

The exhibition will last from May 4 – 29, 2011, and will be held at the Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien (MUMOK), Museumsplatz 1, 1070 Vienna

 “Promoting young artists from the Central and Eastern European region is of particular importance to us“, said Günter Thumser at the opening of the exhibition. “This is because art makes a major contribution to mutual understanding in the region.”

For the tenth year Henkel Central Eastern Europe announced its calls for entries to win the Henkel Art.Award. 2011 for the Central and Eastern European region. The prize is a kind of start-up assistance supporting artists in their professional development. This longstanding sponsoring commitment on the part of Henkel CEE has served as the basis for the international exhibition successes of many Henkel Art.Award. winners such as Dan Perjovschi, Miha Strukelj and Mladen Miljanović.
 
Maksymilian Cieslak was given the Henkel Art.Award. 2010. The art prize involves a monetary grant of 7,000 euros, an exhibition in his native country of Poland and now an individual presentation of his works in MUMOK including publication of an art catalogue.