Watch Maria Zagala, Curator of Prints, Drawings and Photographs at the Art Gallery of South Australia, as she delves into the artistic evolution of Joseph Stanislaw Ostoja-Kotkowski, a pioneering multi-disciplinary artist.
The State Library holds Ostoja-Kotkowski’s personal archive, charting his transformative artistic journey from his arrival to Adelaide from Poland in the 1950s through to the 1990s. His work was integral to the development of the arts in Australia, with the introduction, for example, of his innovative work in computer and laser technology, including kinetics and chromasonics, applied to visual art, music and theatre. His archive was accepted to the UNESCO Memory of the World in 1988.
With decades of expertise, Maria Zagala has made significant contributions to both historical and contemporary art scholarship. Her academic background includes a Master of Fine Arts from La Trobe University, focusing on Renaissance life drawing practices, complemented by research in Berlin, London, and Florence.
Also born in Poland and having immigrated to Australia in 1980, Zagala brings a uniquely personal perspective to her exploration of Ostoja-Kotkowski's life and work. She recently contributed an extended essay on Stanislaw Ostoja-Kotkowski to The Adelaide Art Scene: Becoming contemporary 1939-2000, published by Wakefield Press in 2023.
Maria Zagala
Maria Zagala is Curator of Prints, Drawings and Photographs at the Art Gallery of South Australia, where she has served since 2006.
From 1996 to 2006 Maria was Assistant Curator of Prints and Drawings at the National Gallery of Victoria.
She has curated numerous on historical and contemporary art including A Beautiful Life: Italian prints from Mantegna to Piranesi (2010), Tracey Moffatt: Narratives (with Stephen Zagala, 2011), Trent Parke: the Black Rose (with Julie Robinson, 2015) and Brent Harris: Surrender and Catch, co-presented by TarraWarra Museum of Art and AGSA (2023-2024). She was editor of the monograph Ian North: art/work/words (2019). From 2006 to 2019 she was Affiliate Lecturer in the Art History Program, School of History and Politics at the University of Adelaide. She has served on the boards of the Australian Experimental Art Foundation (2009-2012), Artlink (2011), and The Nora Heysen Foundation (2022-continuing).
Image: Newton5c. SLSA: PRG 919/107/503