The exhibition “Celina Osiecka. Photography services” can be viewed at the Praga Museum of Warsaw. It presents photos from the archives of Celina Osiecka’s workshop, taken between 1962 and 2022. Osiecka is the author of thousands of portraits of Warsaw residents. She has run her photocenter on Saska Kępa in Warsaw from 1968 until today.

The exhibition “Celina Osiecka. Photography services” is not only a presentation of the profile of an exceptional Warsaw woman but also a document of half a century of the history of photographic craftsmanship, a testimony to the changes that have taken place in photography, culture, fashion and customs. The photos presented at the exhibition were selected from thousands of alphabetically arranged negatives and prints.

The photo studio at Zwycięzców Street stands out from other Warsaw photo centers due to the analog nature of Celina Osiecka’s work. The photographer exposes the images of clients on black and white negatives, which are then chemically processed in the darkroom, and finally retouched using the traditional pencil method. As a result, each Osiecka’s print is unique. In the past, she took photos for documents and occasional photos, now mainly commemorative photo portraits.

In addition to portrait and occasional photography, the exhibition presents the artisanal aspect of the photographer’s work – the pencil retouching technique and original folders prepared for the apprentice’s and master’s exams. Photos from Osiecka’s family album show the history of the photo studio and the changing reality around it.

Celina Osiecka 1968 obtained the title of Master of the Craft in photography and then opened her own workshop, which she has been running continuously to this day. For over 50 years, the profession of photographer has undergone a radical transformation: from an analog, black and white craft, it has turned into a colourful, digital applied photography. Osiecka resisted this revolution.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński