Sculpture for the Wall Unit

Ceramic penguins, monkeys, strongmen, and pin-ups decorated the “meblościanka” - the built-in wall-unit shelving found in nearly every Polish apartment under communism. This show at Królikarnia presents the original prototypes behind those now-collectible figurines.

National Museum on the exhibition:

Ceramic penguins, monkeys, strongmen, and pin-ups decorated wall-unit shelving in Polish apartments for nearly the entire communist period. These distinctive porcelain “chamber sculptures” caused a sensation abroad and still delight design enthusiasts today. They were designed in the mid-1950s at the Institute of Industrial Design in Warsaw by a team that included Henryk Jędrasiak, Mieczysław Naruszewicz, Hanna Orthwein, and Lubomir Tomaszewski.

Several hundred ceramic models depicting people and animals stood out for their modern sculptural modeling and non-imitative painted decoration. The designs were conceived for mass production, meant to be affordable for individual buyers wanting to furnish their homes in line with the latest trends in art and design. These modern figurines were produced in large quantities by every porcelain factory in Poland between 1956 and 1965.

The exhibition presents a collection from the holdings of the National Museum in Warsaw. It is exceptional because it consists entirely of original prototypes created under the personal supervision of the four leading designers at the Institute of Industrial Design. They created the distinctive, widely imitated style and the finest models. Visitors will be able to admire the sculptural character of the works and the original formal language their creators developed.

What to expect

The exhibition runs from 14 May to 25 October 2026 at the Xawery Dunikowski Museum of Sculpture at Królikarnia, a National Museum branch. You’ll see several hundred ceramic prototypes of figures - people and animals - designed under the personal supervision of the four founders of the Institute of Industrial Design, mass-produced by Polish porcelain factories between 1956 and 1965. These are originals, not later mass-production copies.

Tickets and opening hours are on the National Museum’s website.

Museum profile: National Museum in Warsaw.