Katarzyna Zwolinska, Fruits in a Bowl, Mixed Media Painting, 2005

Katarzyna Zwolinska is a Polish painter, she graduated from the Fine Arts school at Warsaw in 1997. She mainly does easel painting, drawing and pastel work. Very influenced by Italian painting from the 14th century, she questions the search for beauty and the role of the subject in the painting. Still life, landscapes and flowers are her key themes, these theme aren't attractive at first glance but are bent towards a more contemporary aesthetic. She puts aside technical rigor and dedicates herself to simplified painting, based on portraying the object. Through synthetic painting, she concentrates on the visual aspect of the object. Vases, fruit baskets are made up of geometrical lines where contrasts between the forms are reinforced by flat areas of thick colors. In Katarzyna Zwolinska's paintings, her subjects are derived from the academic tradition, asking questions which are still valid today. Is the painted object an excuse to look for a harmony of colors and beauty? She has participated in more than forty collective exhibitions, Zwolinska also had the opportunity to exhibit alone in Poland and Portugal. She received a prize in 2010 during the International Pastel Biennial and Festival of Contemporary art.