Katarzyna Strzykalska
Katarzyna Strzykalska rethinks how female saints and martyrs have traditionally been portrayed, especially questioning why their suffering has often been made to look beautiful or even sensual. Through distorted faces and bodies, she focuses instead on the emotional and psychological depth of pain, bringing these historical figures closer to contemporary sensitivity.
Artist statement
My name is Katarzyna Strzykalska and I am a graduate of the Faculty of Painting at the Magdalena Abakanowicz University of Arts in Poznań/Poland. Painting has been my passion since my early years. I have tried various techniques, trying to visually respond to the issues that have been troubling me at various stages of my life. Currently, I am dealing with religious topics, which are very close to me.
In my works, I would like to provoke the viewer to feel discomfort, to contemplate their own emotions that arise in contact with the topics I address. When working on my paintings, I create a visual opportunity to feel something new in the face of a familiar phenomenon - suffering. Escaping from literal brutality and excessive idealization, I reach for deformation, which has become a way for me to encourage the viewer to analyze their own feelings in connection with what they experience in contact with such an unnatural, unstable image.
