Piotr Marzec. Horses and Medusas

A short exhibition of works by Piotr Marzec, author of the comics “Słodkie Chłopaki” (Sweet Boys) and “Smoła” (Tar), at Lengrenówka - the Museum of Caricature’s second venue, in the Old Town. Across its run, 9 October 2026 - 18 October 2026 , the exhibition is open on only four days, listed below in the events section.

The Museum of Caricature on the exhibition:

Art history is full of examples of artists returning to the same subject again and again: several versions of Sunflowers, a series of Rouen Cathedral paintings depicting the building at different times of day, different versions of The Execution. Perhaps the reason is simply that you really like sunflowers. Or perhaps, somewhere between the moment an idea exists only in your head and the moment it becomes dried paint on a physical canvas, something of its original brilliance gets lost - and a second attempt might turn out better. Maybe it has nothing to do with the elusive nature of the world of ideas. Perhaps the different versions of The Enchanted City are simply part of the design process: loose sketches among which we eventually choose the perfect pictogram of a hand with a brush painting a picture. And then there is a fourth reason, one that puts the emphasis on the act of painting itself and its almost magical power of affirmation: “Theophilus painted the battle between Saint George and the dragon for so long that eventually the saint won and people could dance,” the narrator tells us in a film inspired by the story of the Janowska Group.

The starting point for Piotr Marzec’s first solo presentation since 2022 is a selection of works in which the same characters keep returning: Medusa, the Wolf-Man, Horses. It offers a glimpse into the design process - or perhaps a magical process. Or simply a chance to show just how much I like drawing horses.

What to expect

Instead of a survey of his whole output, you get a few motifs shown again and again: Medusa, the Wolf-Man and horses. The museum bills this as Marzec’s first solo presentation since 2022 and states its aim outright - to show the design process, not just the finished versions.

Marzec is an intermedia artist: he works in drawing, painting, comics and the artist’s book. The museum gives neither the number of works nor a list of objects, so there is no telling which of these techniques you will see on the walls.

Lengrenówka is an adaptation of the former flat and studio of Zbigniew Lengren, the cartoonist associated with the magazine “Przekrój” and creator of Profesor Filutek. The museum describes it as a space for meetings, education, exhibitions and small artistic events. Expect an intimate interior and a single series of works.

Context

Piotr Marzec was born in 1993 in Myślenice and graduated from Mirosław Bałka’s Spatial Activities Studio at the Academy of Fine Arts (ASP) in Warsaw. His debut, “Słodkie Chłopaki”, first circulated independently and won Złote Kurczaki (Golden Chickens), the awards of an independent comics festival, for best comic and best script of 2020. In 2022 the album was shown in the exhibition “Niepokój przychodzi o zmierzchu” (Unease Comes at Dusk) at Zachęta.

His second album, “Smoła”, published by Kultura Gniewu, was nominated in 2025 for the Warsaw Literary Prize (Nagroda Literacka m.st. Warszawy) in the comics category. Culture.pl sets the two titles against each other: the debut is a loose, sentimental anthology of backyard stories rooted in their local setting, while “Smoła” is a fictional horror story in a dense line. Marzec also publishes his work in his own zine, “Zealot”.

“Dobre kreski” (Good Lines) is a series of solo exhibitions by illustrators, comics artists and satirical cartoonists, which the Museum of Caricature runs with the Museum of Comics Foundation (Fundacja Muzeum Komiksu) from Kraków; the series curator is Michał Rzecznik. The series began in April 2023, and by March 2026 the museum was already writing about its fourth season. Some earlier editions were one-weekend shows; this one runs for two. The museum announces the next one, with works by Weronika Banasińska, for the end of October.

Tickets and time

• Where: Lengrenówka, ul. Brzozowa 6/8a - not the museum’s main building at ul. Kozia 11, but its second venue. Brzozowa is a short Old Town street between ul. Celna and ul. Mostowa. Opening hours, prices and directions for the building on Kozia are on the Museum of Caricature profile.
• Entrance: the museum describes two ways in, and both involve stairs - from the corner of Brzozowa and Celna down beside the building at Brzozowa 6/8, or from ul. Bugaj up - followed by a small terrace and a gate. If stairs are an obstacle for you, ask the museum before your visit.
• Ticket: the Lengrenówka exhibition has its own ticket, and there is also a combined ticket with the building on Kozia. The museum sells tickets online and at the box office; the price list is on its Visit page.
• When: four open days over two consecutive weekends, preceded by an opening - dates and times are in the Accompanying events section. If you miss the first weekend, there is still the second; after that the exhibition closes.
• How long: about half an hour is enough for the exhibition itself - it is one series of works in a small interior.
• Who it’s for: readers of Polish comics, especially those who know “Słodkie Chłopaki” or “Smoła”, and anyone curious about how an artist returns to the same characters in successive versions.
• Who can skip it: anyone who expects satirical cartoons from the museum’s name - the museum presents Marzec as an intermedia artist, and culture.pl describes his latest album as a horror story. Also anyone who cannot come on either of the two weekends.

Accompanying events

• 9 October 2026, 18:00 - opening at Lengrenówka, ul. Brzozowa 6/8a.
• 10, 11, 17 and 18 October 2026, 12:00-16:00 - the exhibition is open to visitors.

See also

• Photocopy and Hand Out! Zines and the Independent Press in Poland During the Transition - an exhibition of the Museum of Caricature at ul. Kozia 11, on until 15 November 2026. Its co-curator is Michał Rzecznik, the curator of “Dobre kreski”, and Marzec himself started out in independent circulation and publishes his own zine; the combined ticket covers both venues.
• Adolph Menzel (1815-1905). The Tireless Observer - drawing from an entirely different era: the National Museum in Warsaw shows an artist by whom it holds 45 drawings and more than 200 prints in its own collection.
• Satire and Comics by Jan Matejko - on the sister site muzea.org.pl: the satirical drawings with which Matejko commented on the world around him.

Museum profile: Museum of Caricature.