To mark the group exhibition "Unveil the truth" which presents for the first time at the gallery the work of Polish painter Karolina Szwed, the artist and I discussed on her practice.
Three works have been selected for this exhibition. Close framing, erasure, vibration, movement, and the layering of paint and drawn elements characterise the works currently on view. Szwed explores, constantly seeks, and lets herself be guided by her instinct, even to the point of starting over if the painting does not satisfy her: "The first, non-existent paintings are necessary – sometimes to get the colour, to get anything, like a clue, direction, the smallest starting point, and you can go on" explains the painter.
Gesture and composition first, and the balance between colours, guide the painter. Whilst the artist is deeply interested in abstraction, figurative elements persist and guide the eye. A vibration, an idea of movement, or rather a certain dynamism, marks the painter’s work. The artist follows an impulse, often painting with a sense of urgency so as not to lose the very essence and spirit of the subject. “A painting is a kind of representation of thinking in time; one moment you simply decide to stop and observe what has happened from a distance.” Her works invite us, the viewers, to slow down and contemplate them at length.
Three works have been selected for this exhibition. Close framing, erasure, vibration, movement, and the layering of paint and drawn elements characterise the works currently on view. Szwed explores, constantly seeks, and lets herself be guided by her instinct, even to the point of starting over if the painting does not satisfy her: "The first, non-existent paintings are necessary – sometimes to get the colour, to get anything, like a clue, direction, the smallest starting point, and you can go on" explains the painter.
Gesture and composition first, and the balance between colours, guide the painter. Whilst the artist is deeply interested in abstraction, figurative elements persist and guide the eye. A vibration, an idea of movement, or rather a certain dynamism, marks the painter’s work. The artist follows an impulse, often painting with a sense of urgency so as not to lose the very essence and spirit of the subject. “A painting is a kind of representation of thinking in time; one moment you simply decide to stop and observe what has happened from a distance.” Her works invite us, the viewers, to slow down and contemplate them at length.
Karolina Szwed in her studio in Warsaw, Poland.
"I wish to do something I don’t quite understand, and move on when I start to feel comfortable."
Karolina Szwed
Elsa Meunier : Can you introduce yourself? (Short bio, career path, what determined your choice to devote yourself to your artistic practice).
Karolina Szwed : I am a painter, I have been painting continuously for about 4 years now, so it began after I graduated in 2022. I paint whenever I can, everyday when it’s possible. I studied painting, but surely haven’t learned enough while attending the academy. I was busy doing other, not very smart things. I live in Warsaw right now, my studio and my gallery Turnus are here, pretty close to each other. I’m changing studios often, haven't found the right one yet. I like moving and changing places in general, I would change the apartment every half of the year as well if it was a bit simpler to do. Painting is a pretty consistent thing in my life, I don’t think I have had anything like that before. Since this artistic practice and having a good romantic life became the ever-changing constants in my life, I have never been better. It is a strange introduction, but it’s true. I think the way a person is in love, and what they are in love with, says a lot about their art.
E.M : Several compositions are organised in a bipartite manner: at the edges of the painting, at the top or bottom of the canvas, one can see a section defined by figurative references (such as the work ‘monkey music’ presented in the exhibition, with a frame focusing on shoes at the top of the painting, or in the piece entitled ‘no title (fountain)’, where moving cars can be seen at the bottom of the painting). These elements are concentrated at one end of the painting, whilst the rest of the canvas is devoted to gestures, signs and the superimposition of colours and symbols that meet and coexist. This dialogue lends the works a great dynamism, as if they were captured in motion. Is this a way for you to avoid freezing the scene, but rather to convey the feeling of a memory?
K.Z : When it comes to the composition, it could be a trick to avoid the figurative work from becoming just an illustration, or a way to get a looser, open narrative. I always focus on the composition and gesture, it is just more fun for me to create the structure as I go. It’s like with traditional Chinese ink paintings: they have different poetry in them because the hierarchy is build in another way, you define focus points differently, you almost read them as words on paper, so they will tell you other things, using different language and so on. They dont have one, set source of light, their structure is more patchworky and I like to use it sometimes to build something that is still descriptive, but in a different register. It even is called “capturing the spirit”, the energy of the perceived topic is the most crucial. Following this logic, you could say I paint from memory. I’m also invested in the specifics of handwriting and understanding gesture in every scale, so for me it’s just very interesting. You can be astonished by the trompe l’oeil even when knowing its just made with mathematics and a nailed string for perspective, but planning out a painting would feel really strange to me, so maybe, simply, that’s the reason. Still, in some pieces I break out from it, it really depends. It’s different with landscapes, because in simplification nature looks very “abstract” and it’s maybe even hard to make it look wrong. The movement element stems from the process itself, I change a lot of things and usually i try to paint quickly. It allows me to keep some of the information about decision making, definitive gestures.
E.M : Several compositions are organised in a bipartite manner: at the edges of the painting, at the top or bottom of the canvas, one can see a section defined by figurative references (such as the work ‘monkey music’ presented in the exhibition, with a frame focusing on shoes at the top of the painting, or in the piece entitled ‘no title (fountain)’, where moving cars can be seen at the bottom of the painting). These elements are concentrated at one end of the painting, whilst the rest of the canvas is devoted to gestures, signs and the superimposition of colours and symbols that meet and coexist. This dialogue lends the works a great dynamism, as if they were captured in motion. Is this a way for you to avoid freezing the scene, but rather to convey the feeling of a memory?
K.Z : When it comes to the composition, it could be a trick to avoid the figurative work from becoming just an illustration, or a way to get a looser, open narrative. I always focus on the composition and gesture, it is just more fun for me to create the structure as I go. It’s like with traditional Chinese ink paintings: they have different poetry in them because the hierarchy is build in another way, you define focus points differently, you almost read them as words on paper, so they will tell you other things, using different language and so on. They dont have one, set source of light, their structure is more patchworky and I like to use it sometimes to build something that is still descriptive, but in a different register. It even is called “capturing the spirit”, the energy of the perceived topic is the most crucial. Following this logic, you could say I paint from memory. I’m also invested in the specifics of handwriting and understanding gesture in every scale, so for me it’s just very interesting. You can be astonished by the trompe l’oeil even when knowing its just made with mathematics and a nailed string for perspective, but planning out a painting would feel really strange to me, so maybe, simply, that’s the reason. Still, in some pieces I break out from it, it really depends. It’s different with landscapes, because in simplification nature looks very “abstract” and it’s maybe even hard to make it look wrong. The movement element stems from the process itself, I change a lot of things and usually i try to paint quickly. It allows me to keep some of the information about decision making, definitive gestures.
Karolina Szwed, No title (fountain), oil on canvas, 30x40 cm
E.M : In other compositions, where the scenes are spread more widely across the canvas, I have noticed that the figurative elements are sketched, as if drawn in charcoal, with only their outlines defined. One notices that certain motifs, which aid in understanding the scene, also tend to fade or even disappear subtly within the successive layers of paint. The elements are present but do not impose themselves, as if they were evanescent. I am thinking in particular of the work "World Money (Cafe Amatorska)" or "Ball Pit", or even the piece from our exhibition "Studio Smoking". By suggesting rather than describing, is this a way for you to invite the viewer to contemplate the work for longer and to create a space of their own in which to project themselves more fully into the work?
K.Z : I remember being aware of the fact that I don’t exactly know how to paint - so I couldn’t actually choose an esthetic, use the full catalogue of options, which made me feel really nervous in the very beginning. As I learned, I understood that not everything I do has to take a lot of time, and that I change my mind constantly. I needed a process that was quick. I think the “outline and nothing much else” when it comes to the figures has to do with me wanting to have an every-man, but I keep on adding myself in them and they are definitely not neutral, so that’s a faulty logic and probably something to fix. This is simple as well, and I don’t think of it inherently as bad - until I start doing it out of habit. I recently have started to move away from this exact stylisation, although certain approaches just exit to come back later. I get a lot of interesting qualities when wiping things away or when backing out of an idea, and this you cannot reenact.
Both the works 'World Money (Cafe Amatorska)' and 'Ball Pit' started out as completely different paintings, with different motifs. I probably didn’t like them or tweaked them too much and decided it would be probably for the better if I just wipe most of it away. Blend the colours into one and see what’s next. In the end I would have a one-colored canvas instead of something very defined that I considered bad, even if I wouldn’t come up with anything substantial that day. On that note, I remember a few times regretting doing it. Good to know that the decision is not so innocent and meaningless, even if judgment relies only on my intuition and has an expiry date. The first, nonexistent paintings are necessary - sometimes to get the color, to get anything, like a clue, direction, the smallest starting point, and you can go on.
Karolina Szwed, World Money (Cafe Amatorska), 2025, oil on canvas, 40x50 cm
E.M : We can also notice in your work traces of inscriptions within the material, and layers where the material and the inscriptions overlap. Rather than an idea of collages, signs or words appear transparently within the material, like the spectre of objects of which only the outlines or traces remain. In the piece ‘Debit card elevator’, for instance, we can only see the word ‘Debit’ and perceive the scene through the card. Or, in the work presented at the exhibition ‘stupid child gets warm’, inscriptions appear subtly. Can you tell us about this approach?
K.Z : I usually work best when I paint wet in wet. When I feel like a motif needs to be more literal, taken from reality as is, like a logo or a font, I‘ll add it in a separate layer - going a bit against my own rules. Maybe it happens so a viewer can make a quick connection to something from everyday life that’s not overly interpreted.
The work “Debit card elevator” is an object and a room, I wanted to add just enough things from each (the card, an elevator, a train cart) so it is visible what they represent.
Another painting you mentioned, where the person is putting on/taking off a money jacket - I’m not sure if I was thinking much while painting, but it turned out personal and bitter. I remember I did it really quickly and was unhappy because I missed the struggle. Now I’m happy with this work. Usually one thing appears and it’s already out - a painting is some sort of representation of thinking in time, one moment you just decide to stop and see what happened from a distance.
Karolina Szwed, Ball Pit', 2025, oil on canvas, 150x70 cm
E.M- Can you describe your usual artistic process for creating your paintings? Do you make sketches or preparatory works, or do you paint directly onto the canvas?
K.Z- The first attempt is always the most important and usually my artworks start as trying something out or making things out of curiosity. I view my process as a place for troubleshooting, not necessarily craftsmanship. I don’t make sketches to make paintings, drawings are separate. If I recreate something, which happens rarely, it results as a totally different things in the end or it just fails. I think my process is actually everything that happens in between painting sessions - places I visit, books I read, things I get excited about - I feel like I am learning something all the time. Hopefully this enthusiasm stays with me for a bit longer, it is always scary to lose genuine enthusiasm.
The more narrative driven pieces feel less and less natural to me, but won’t resing from making figurative work (I think). In a way, I have already learnt some rules, I want to do things that seem less obvious to me. Abstract painting is such a thing, but it depends how one understands it. Nothing is abstract, everything is descriptive, which can be banal, but, as a baseline, thinking like this is helpful when I’m trying to have at least one anchor when working on something new. I wish to do something I don’t quite understand, and move on when I start to feel comfortable.
E.M- What are your main artistic influences on your work in general? And which artist do you most enjoy looking now?
K.Z- I usually look for people who notice interesting patterns and links, are invested in their own rabbit holes but think in a way that seems familiar to me. My work is influenced by a lot of things not connected with painting directly, like checking meanings of different words and finding some sort of poetry in it; or connecting the dots while researching some old versions of modern items. I like the history of pool or arcade games. For example, I have discovered that almost every person who was professionally writing about billiards picked up fishing at some point of their lives - I was painting a lot of watery, floaty paintings at that point. Things like these. I feel like my process in general is a bit like a lottery. I’m trying to better understand how all of this works, how does one approach the idea of an accomplishment in this setting.
I love reading, I think right now my favourite writer is Thomas Bernhard. I like D. F. Wallace. As a younger person it was a bit different, I enjoyed everything connected to scary, powerful women, obsession with specific topics and themes in a loop, cities and buildings inexplicably changing and distorting, like Kobo Abe’s writing or Schulz.
I think Tsai Ming Liang is the most inspiring director for me, recently I’m watching this japanese TV show called The Masquarade on Youtube and finding great things in there too.
Now when it comes to painters, I always look for drawings, I look at how well-known artists used to write their names, what they drew for fun or just to explain something. I go through phases, I like the classic french painters such as Vuillard and Bonnard; and things that connect with it in contemporary painting (for example Andrew Cranston). I was interested in works by Yu Nishimura at one point, recently a friend intruduced works by Morris Kantor to me, so that’s what I was looking at lately. I liked a retrospective of a chinese artist Zhao Wenliang when I visited Beijing not so long back. In Paris I enjoyed seeing works by Mamma Andersson. On the other hand I really like Cy Twombly. But it all depends, I would probably give you another selection if it was the next day.