Title: Marta Teacher of Subtlety

Date: 2024

Description: The painting was created for the group exhibition Rhizome, presenting the works of the Kłącze collective, a group of artists who share their studios at the Institute of Industrial Chemistry in Warsaw. This show was part of the Fringe Warsaw 2024. Our project for this show was to portray one another together with Mart and Łukasz Dziedzic. It was a wonderful experience of flow and reciprocity. I painted Marta in a blouse with an image of red butterfly. The butterfly is a powerful symbol of transformation. When painting it, I was concentrated on her hair. It is thick and dark, and it seems to wave slightly, as if receiving signals from the extrasensory realm. Marta’s face shimmers with a yellow-golden glow, which comes from circles of golden energy around her head. They alternate with green ones. This is Marta’s energetic equivalent at the moment of painting the portrait. While painting her, I felt her subtlety and gentleness.

Technique, dimension: oil on canvas, 65 × 55 cm

First showing: 2024, Fringe Warsaw 2024

Ownership: Marta Szulc