Until recently, Arkadius’s works were not yet in the collections of any Polish institution, but the Central Textile Museum in Łódź purchased two of his collections: “Virgin Mary Wears The Trousers” from 2001, prepared for the spring/summer 2002 season, referring to the rich iconography of Polish Catholicism and the ornate religiosity typical of Sarmatian culture, and the “United States of Mind” collection, prepared for the spring/summer 2004 season, which was a pacifist protest directed against global armed conflicts.
The purchased Arkadius collections can now be viewed by all of us, as they were presented at the exhibition “Arkadius. Great passions. Confrontations” at the Central Textile Museum in Łódź. The creations were shown in the context of the artist’s broader work, socio-cultural references and references to phenomena of Polish and world history at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries. The legacy of Arkadius stored in the Museum’s collections was confronted with artistic fabrics from the museum’s collection and with contemporary art. The architecture of the exhibition was designed to combine a modern church with the temple of Aphrodite, Arcadia with a fashion show. The dominant colour against which the stylizations are placed is a sharp, expressive red.
Arkadius was one of the London avant-gardists, but his fashion was strongly influenced by Polish noble and folk culture. In his works, Arkadius combined Western European tendencies with what was native, local and – ours, Polish – folk, promoting Polish culture in the world. He combined the sacred with the profane, clashing extremes. His muses were both the Virgin Mary and a sex worker. In his work, he reached for the sources of faith and religion to talk about love, proclaiming pacifist ideas and anti-discriminatory postulates. He was famous for openly discussing the topics of eroticism and passion.
Arkadius played a significant role in the development of Polish fashion. He is one of the few people from Poland who have made their mark on the history of European fashion. The opportunity to see his work with your own eyes is a unique opportunity to come into contact with a fascinating, one-of-a-kind form, and you absolutely must take advantage of this opportunity! I am very happy that this exhibition can be seen in Łódź – a city with textile traditions. Hosting such collections at the Central Textile Museum is a great distinction for Łódź, and for the residents of Łódź (I think you will agree with me) a great honor.