Museum Stories

Mysterious Wise Woman in Paulina Ołowska’s Paintings

Piotr Policht 7 December 2016 min Read

Paulina Ołowska is a Polish artist, primarily a painter, but also working with mediums such as theater. She has a bee in her bonnet about reinforcing overlooked aesthetics, but not solely for aesthetic purposes. Ołowska is also considered to be one of the most important Polish artist touching upon feminist themes. Feminism in her work can take somewhat unusual shapes. Shapes of Slavic goddesses, crosswords and even mushrooms. I won’t tell you more about them, be sure to explore her previous work on your own. This time, let’s have a quick look at her ongoing exhibition at Metro Pictures gallery in New York.

The Numismatist, 2016, oil and acrylic on canvas, 220 x 150 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Metro Pictures, New York
Paulina Ołowska, “The Numismatist”, 2016, oil and acrylic on canvas, 220 x 150 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Metro Pictures, New York

After long-time pursuit of forgotten leftovers of socialist modernism, after merging together old and modern faces of post-communist state, Ołowska turned her eyes on the countryside. Not just any countryside, but the one he lives and works in for couple of years. Rabka-Zdrój is a spa resort, a little town in Polish mountains, whose golden age passed decades ago. It serves as a perfect background for her visual narrative.

The Painter, 2016, oil and acrylic on canvas, 220 x 170 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Metro Pictures, New York
Paulina Ołowska, “The Painter”, 2016, oil and acrylic on canvas, 220 x 170 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Metro Pictures, New York

Most of the paintings portray women characterized by their occupation. If you read Michel Houellebecq’s novel The Map and the Territory, you may remember a series of paintings by its fictional protagonist Jed Martin. Those paintings of professions might seem similar. But Ołowska’s works have nothing to do with a frigid analysis of social roles.

The Mycologist, 2016, oil and acrylic on canvas, 220 x 180 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Metro Pictures, New York
Paulina Ołowska, “The Mycologist”, 2016, oil and acrylic on canvas, 220 x 180 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Metro Pictures, New York

Visions of her heroines resemble stills from fashion magazines, elaborately posed and dressed. Ołowska is primarily concerned with a celebration of specialized fields of knowledge. Like mycology, a branch of biology studying fungi. She plays with that stylized, fashion magazine style, adding some attributes of the wise women. In here, the mycologist is for example accompanied by a crow.

Paulina Ołowska, "Mysteria", 2016, oil and acrylic on canvas, 260 x 124 cm (each panel), 260 x 372 cm (overall). Courtesy of the artist and Metro Pictures, New York
Paulina Ołowska, “Mysteria”, 2016, oil and acrylic on canvas, 260 x 124 cm (each panel), 260 x 372 cm (overall). Courtesy of the artist and Metro Pictures, New York

What’s the story behind that tiny spa town? And what do Ołowska’s women have to do with Nabis? Stay tuned, you would find out soon in DailyArt app!

Recommended

Interior, New Art Gallery Walsall, UK, gallery’s website. Museum Stories

Walsall’s Mona Lisa in the Garman Ryan Collection

The Garman Ryan Collection holds some of the most fascinating and esoteric artworks you will ever see. Also the story of how two women managed to...

Candy Bedworth 8 May 2023

Museum Stories

Vase of Flowers: The WWII Theft of a Dutch Still Life

What happens to artworks and cultural treasures as a nation prepares for war? In the case of Jan van Huysum’s Vase of Flowers, the Dutch still...

Natalia Iacobelli 17 April 2023

Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum Stories

Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen: Staff Picks

Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen is located in the heart of Rotterdam, a Dutch city well known for its bold, modern architecture and seafaring history.

Ania Kaczynska 23 January 2023

Museum Stories

Crystals and Art – The Wonder World of Swarovski

In the middle of the Austrian countryside, in Wattens, you can find yourself surrounded by a mixture of contemporary art and crystal wonders by...

Agnieszka Cichocka 16 January 2023