The Bite Magazine - Spring/Summer 2022 - Issue 31

biteartistprofile W hen Polish contemporary figurative painter and art educator Joanna Pilarczyk moved to London over a decade ago, she was amazed and entranced by the city's diverse cultures and vibrant energy. Here, she began to paint oil portraits of new acquaintances and friends within the artist community of north London. Back in Po- land, she studied art at college and university in Zielona Góra, a city in the western Lubusz province, where she ob- tained an MA in Art Education and Visual Arts. Since she was young, Joanna has loved to draw and paint. “My parents realised my sister and I were very creative, so they signed us up for after school art classes in the local com- munity centre.” She knew from primary school she would be attending art college, so she grabbed every opportunity to learn more about art techniques. “I was so focused on art; I spent every summer at Art Plein Air (Art Open Air), a yearly summer event in Poland, Germany and France.” She remembered when the Soviet Union controlled Poland. Everything seemed grey, and her family life was difficult for many years. Creativity was a personal escape from the mo- notony of her surroundings. When she was eight years old, Joanna caught her first glimpse of Western culture on TV and was fascinated by Hollywood movies and the vibrancy of the ‘idyllic’ American world. Through this, she characterised neon colours, oriental flowers and plants, strong sunlight re- flecting on resting bodies and serenity that dominated her canvas after her move to London. Joanna focused on portraiture as an artist fascinated by peo- ple in her formative years. Her latest colourful psychedelic Images courtesy of Joanna Pilarczyk