The first of Jarosław Kozłowski’s drawing performaces, realised in the late 1970’s, had individual titles. His first performance presented in 1978 was entitled The Cavalryman and a Girl and was the artist’s way-ward attempt at finding his place within the tradition of Polish Art History. A subsequent one – Leda with the Swan ( 1978) faced the European history of art, while Mona Lisa in the Fourth Dimension (1979) found its references in the world art. Here and Now (1980) developed a dialogue with current art and Drawing with a Commentary (1980) alluded to the theme of the exhibition at which it was presented: Drawings and Commentaries. In his Demonstration (1980), the artist emphasized the pedagogical aspect of activities demonstrated to students. His Individual Mythologies (1980) accompanied the artist’s exhibition under the same title.
From the 1988 on, all of Kozłowski’s activities are framed by the same title: Continuum, only their numbering being changed. In Continuum I an alarm clock has appeared for the first time; it measured the time in which the board was drying after being covered with drawings in white chalk and, subsequently, wiped. The collection of 40 stilled alarm clocks is the remains of the Continuum series, realized to date. Each of his activities follows the same script, only the time and place being different. This activity, repeated for more than thirty years has proved a new experience for the artist every time: ‘I repeat the same actions, but they set free a new energy in me each time, new motions, new rage, and each time it’s truly something new, for the first time. Continuum demands physical effort. My physical condition has changed over the years and, no matter how I try to draw the same way, it comes out different each time because the chalk breaks more often or less frequently, the surface of the board is it comes out different each time because the chalk breaks more often or less frequently, the surface of the board is different, and so on. On every occasion, it’s a different time, a different space, a different audience, and a different interaction between us. And so, for me, every new execution of the performance is a new experience (…) nothing can be repeated.’
In 2023 at the Profile Foundation took place Continuum XL. It was, as an artist anoonced, the last performance in this series
2023
Continuum XL, Fundacja Profile, Warszawa
2015
Continuum XXXVIII, CSW Znaki Czasu, Toruń
2014
Continuum XXXVII, Art Station Foundation, Warszawa
2013
Continuum XXXVI, Hebbeel am Ufer, Berlin
2012
Continuum XXXIV, Muzeum sztuki współczesnej w Krakowie Mocak, Kraków
2011
Continuum XXXIII, Block Edition, Berlin
Continuum XXXII, Generali Foundation, Wiedeń
Continuum XXXI, Garage Center for Contemporary Culture, Moskwa
2010
Continuum XXX, Henie Onstad Art Centre, Høvikodden
2009
Continuum XXIX, Fundacja Profile, Warszawa
Continuum XXVIII, Kunsthallen Nikolaj, Kopenhaga
2008
Continuum XXVII, KUMU Kunstimuuseum, Tallin
Continuum XXVI, Ludwig Múzeum – Kortárs Művészeti Múzeum, Budapeszt
Continuum XXV, Barak Sztuki, Poznań
2006
Continuum XXIV, Generali Foundation, Wiedeń
Continuum XXIII, Galeria Oko/Ucho, Poznań
Ekspedycja (1969– ), Studio Alternatywne, TVP Kultura
2005
Continuum XXII, Emerson Gallery, Berlin
2004
Continuum XXI, Forum des Cordeliers,Tuluza
2002
Continuum XX, Kunsthalle Wien, Wiedeń
2001
Continuum XIX, Centro de Experimentação e Informação de Arte, Belo Horizonte
2000
Continuum XVIII, Národní galerie, Praga
Continuum XVII, Dům umění města Brna, Brno
1999
Continuum XVI, Centrum Sztuki Współczesnej Zamek Ujazdowski, Warszawa
1997
Continuum XV, Muzeum Narodowe w Poznaniu
1996
Continuum XIV, Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten, Amsterdam
1995
Continuum XIII, Museet for Samtidskunst, Oslo
Continuum XII, BWA, Wrocław Continuum XI, Akademia Sztuk Pięknych, Poznań
1994
Continuum X, Statens Kunstakademi, Oslo
1993
Continuum IX, HCAK, Haga Continuum VIII, Państwowa Wyższa Szkoła Sztuk Plastycznych, Poznań
1991
Continuum VII, The Museum of Modern Art Oxford, Oksford
1990
Continuum VI, The University of New South Wales, Sydney
Continuum V, Byam Shaw School of Art, Londyn
1989
Continuum IV, Archipel Galerie, Apeldoorn
Continuum III, Royal Le Page Building, Edmonton
Continuum II, Concordia University, Montreal
1988
Continuum I, Galeria BWA, Zielona Góra
1980
Tu i teraz, ramach wystawy Sztuka lat 70-tych, Galeria Labirynt BWA, Lublin,
Demonstration, w ramach Presentation, Hochschule für bildende Künste, Hamburg,
Rysunek z komentarzem, w ramach wystawy Rysunki i komentarze, Muzeum Okręgowe, Radom
Indywidualne mitologie, w ramach wystawy Indywidualne mitologie, Galeria Akumulatory 2, Poznań
1979
Mona Lisa w czwartym wymiarze,
w ramach sympozjum Czwarty wymiar, Osieki
1978
Leda z łabędziem, w ramach sympozjum Nowa sztuka i nowe wartości, Jankowice
Ułan i dziewczyna, w ramach sympozjum SytuARTacje, Jankowice