The Zachęta National Gallery of Art is showing Poland's first solo exhibition of works by Allan Sekula, one of the greatest contemporary American photographers of the middle generation.

Sekula, who studied under the likes of John Baldessari and Henri Marcuse, is particularly famous for his series of documentary photographs that he provides with apt comments. His primary interests include politics, history, social relations, environmental protection and climate change.

The exhibition, entitled Polonia and Other Fables, encompasses 40 photographs that Sekula took while visiting Poland in 1990 and 2009. The exhibition is built around two major themes: community work and a drive to reconcile private and personal matters with what is universal and commonplace.

In Polonia and Other Fables, Sekula critically examines his Polish-American roots and explores other aspects of Polish-American economic, political and social relations, with a special focus on the Polish immigrant community in Chicago, Illinois.

The exhibition has also been shown at the Renaissance Society gallery of the University of Chicago.

Open through Feb. 28
Zachęta National Gallery of Art
3 Małachowskiego Sq., tel. (+48) 22 556-96-55
www.zacheta.art.pl