National Gallery of Armenia

The title alone indicates the conception bipolarity of the art works shown. The Polish ADI ART Contemporary art Gallery has organized an exhibition of eleven female artists at the National Gallery of Armenia- the main classic art gallery.
In this way we have created one exhibition about the two poles of Polishfine arts, that, complement each other. The traditional landscape painting and sculptures referring to the modern initiate an interesting dialogue with the aggressive pop painting and experimental reliefs. A question is posed whether or not this art, despite formal differences, has a common ground determined by sex or nationality.
We have not established the artists’ age criteria or the technique and the subject matter of their works. We intend to show the widest possible range of the contemporary art performed by Polish female artists, also having in mind curiosity and inclination to the modern art.
 

Graduated from the Wroclaw Academy of Arts in 2000. She studied painting supervised by prof.
Wanda Golkowska and prof. Piotr Błażejewski.
Agata Kosmala in her works expertly uses the potentialities of different painting techniques. Her
watercolor stains build the background of the scenes and at the same time are essential to the whole
compositions in the sense of poetic and mythical meaning of the works. Her subtle and perfect
drawings in terms of artistic technique, seem to be a continuation of a story, in which the main
character is a young woman. The repetitious motif of beautiful eyes and lips contour is completed
with expressive brushstrokes or intense contour by which the artist accomplishes both an
aesthetically interesting effect and enrichment of the works’ narration.

She began studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, then she continued in Ecole Nationale
Superieur des Arts Decoratifs in Paris. She complimented her education at the artistic scholarship
DAAD in German Worpswede and during internships at graphic studios in Great Britain and
France. Danka Jaworska lives and works in Poland and in Sweden.
Her works are a contemporary interpretation of the traditional presentation of a woman in art
history. By focusing only on the figure, the artist reduces the scene to the most intimate and the
closest space. In order to build the silhouette of the unknown women, Jaworska applies expressive
brush strokes and intriguing colour effects. For the cultural aware viewer these paintings have the
obvious reference to the 17th century Dutch art as well as to the works created at the break of
Realism and Impressionism. Jaworska is making an original compilation of those movements
simultaneously enriching them with her impressive technique skills.

Born in 1988 in Gdańsk, she finished with honours Strzemiński Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź in
2013. She obtained a degree in the Spatial Graphics and Poster Design Studio run by prof.
Sławomir Iwański and she made an annex in prof. Andrzej Bartczak's Painting Studio and in the
Woodcut Techniques and Book Art Studio led by prof. Dariusz Kaca.
The artist explores several fields of visual art and touches different subject. In graphics she
illustrates her own vision of the universe by using simple geometric figures and a pattern of straight
lines. Euclidean shapes are referring quite obviously to space probes and planets and therefore, they
create a simplified yet very coherent image of the vast expanse of cosmos. All these figures are
confronted with organic shapes with origins in nature, they recall for example the beauty of wood
and artist is trying to repeat the wood grains. The combination of geometry standing for hi-tech and
unknown objects and shapes of nature, repeated thanks to the scrupulous observations, form all
together the full vision of a galaxy with a human element. These compositions are very ascetic and
simple, yet aesthetic and carefully thought out.

Born in Poland, she has been living and working in Stockholm for over 20 years. She studied
ceramics and drawing for a year at the Stockholm University.
The artist works extensively in ceramic sculpture, in which she combines Scandinavian elegance
with Slavic fantasy. Her objects often refer to the ancient art, strong inspiration coming from the
history of ancient Greece and Rome is quite visible. Olszewska's sculptures express the longing for
the perfect beauty in terms of classical art, it searches for the ideal proportions. These works are
aesthetically pleasant and interesting in terms of its structure. The artist doesn't copy exactly the
same methods from the old masters, she experiments with different ceramic techniques.

Graduated from the School of Visual Arts, Gdynia, Iwona Jankowski continued her studies of
drawing and painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdansk. She took digital graphics classes at
Houston Community College in 1998.
Jankowski's art style is described as a merge of abstract expressionism with a touch of realism. The
main subject of her works is horse. She tries to capture only an impression of the motive, object or
an animal in order to stimulate a viewer's imagination. Colours of the paintings are very vivid and
bright, the open composition offers a wide range of possible visions.

She finished the European Academy of Arts in Warsaw, where she obtained a diploma in Drawing
and Painting at prof. Wiesław Garboliński's Studio and she made an annex in Applied Arts under the
dr Plewako's guidance. She runs an art gallery in Warsaw called Gallery 8 PLUS.
The artist emphasizes the role of metaphor in her works and she constantly seeks inspiration in the
surrounding world. She creates in very different techniques, both painting and sculptural. As she
admits, everything that stimulate her thoughts can become the theme of her art. Kulągowska pays
more attention to building the atmosphere of a mystery in her works than to overloading her
paintings with complicated symbols. Sometimes she gives the public the insight into her thoughts
by subtle hints, cut phrases from the pieces of newspaper or ambiguous objects.

She is a doctor, but for years her passion is painting. She can be proud of the participation in
exhibitions in Poland, Sweden, the United States or Lithuania. Her works are in many private
collections and her oil painting "The Last Supper" adorns the Museum of the Basilica of Santa
Maria de Guadalupe in Mexico City.
Joanna Kowalczewska paints mainly the traditional landscapes and portraits in oil and acrylic
technique. In her landscapes she is inspired mostly by the views, that she can admire every day. The
artist try to seize the transitory moments and to reproduce her fascination of nature, which gives her
paintings an unusual mood.

Born in 1986 in Nowa Dęba, in 2006 she started studies in Strzemiński Academy of Fine Arts in
Łódź at the Faculty of Graphics and Paining. In 2011 she obtained a diploma with honours in the
Painting Studio run by prof. Piotr Stachlewski and in the dr Gabriela Kołata’s Drawing, Illustration
and Comic Studio.
Joanna Maślejak’s works fall under the influence of pintura matčrica, however, the artist treats this
tradition in a personal way. Her compositions are very intimate, carefully planned but, at the same
time, she accepts the randomness in art. Maślejak lets the colour take the control just to add bonding
elements (like drawings and photographs in the form of collage, stronger texture in some parts) in
order to present a coherent story or a full range of emotions. In these images one can notice a very
interesting correlation between large colour fields and fragments that attract our attention by their
reality. Maślejak consciously introduces authentic objects into her paintings and simultaneously she
is aware of the power of colour, what brings her closer to Polish Colourists.

Graduated from the Department of Art at the Marie Curie–Skłodowska University in Lublin. She
obtained a diploma in Mieczysław Herman studio, supervised by Mikołaj Smoczyński.
Pop culture, religion and visual iconosphere are her biggest inspirations. She uses the aesthetic of
the mass culture by referring to posters and commercials in order to introduce the artistic
commentary into a debate about the modern society. Michalak skilfully combines fragments of the
visual space and presents them in motley compositions that show the banality and overproduction of
the mass culture. In terms of aesthetic, her works are very attractive, they draw attention and refers
to the well-known motives, which strengthen their meanings and general impact on the viewer.

Born in 1986, she studied in Strzemiński Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź at the Faculty of Graphics
and Painting. In 2012 she obtained a diploma with honours in prof. Andrzej Bartczak's Painting
Studio, she made also an annex in the Photography Studio run by prof. Grzegorz Przyborek.
Katarzyna Fydrych creates objects that can be described as painterly reliefs with origins in Donald
Judd's minimal art. The artist herself seems to put stress mainly on the coloristic aspect of her works
and understands them as a research in the painting field mostly. However, it is worth mentioning,
that all objects distinguish themselves by very interesting shapes, in which one can find relation to
the world of nature (water drops, polished stones). Katarzyna Fydrych consciously composes her
works on gallery's walls to fully exploit their capability to express the colour. Despite the fact that
hues are seemingly dependent on the forms, their glow pass through the objects. Brightness and
exceptional glitter underlines the effect of colour, which contributes to the aesthetic pleasure while
admiring Katarzyna Fydrych's works.

Born in Kiev, now she lives and works in Warsaw. In 2006, she graduated from the State Academy
of Fine Arts and Architecture in Kiev, obtaining a bachelor's degree in the field of art conservation.
She studied at the European Academy of Arts in Warsaw in the Graphics Studio of prof. Ryszard
Osadczy and in the Painting Studio of prof. Antoni Fałat. In 2014 she obtained a diploma with
honours in the Faculty of Graphic Arts of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, in the Graphics
Studio of prof. Piotr Smolnicki. She created an annex of lithography in the Studio of prof. Błażej
Ostoja Lniski and a annex of painting in the Studio of prof. Paweł Nowak.
The artist works in various techniques of painting, drawing and graphics. In her graphics she
combines the excellent knowledge of traditional techniques and the formal experiments. Oksana
Bagriy consciously takes inspiration from the historical art, but it's never direct imitation. Her
extremely dramatic and expressive works are an attempt to describe the modern world and the
human condition. They are an expression of the artist's concern for the fragile situation in different
parts of the world. In those works, the artist refers to the tragic events of the recent history to
prevent their oblivion and to warn against their repetition.