Interview With Artist Agnieszka Kaluzna

I am super glad to be sharing today the interview and chat I had with artist, Agnieszka Kaluzna. I spotted her on Instagram last year and couldn’t stop feeling inspired by her art pieces. The love for color, architecture, and space is coming through in her pieces. And I am especially in love with her black and white sketches.

Not only is she a talented artist she also has such a friendly character and inspiration aura around her. Thank you Aga for sharing your story!

MY STORY

Since I remember – I have always painted, drawn and created. As a little girl I designed interiors from cardboard boxes and newspaper clippings. I have been always thinking about colors.

I used to have a lot of creative ideas for fun. I knew from the very beginning that this was the path of my life. Already as a teenager, I chose Art High School and later, the University of the Arts in Poznań. Although apart from painting I was drawing a lot, I graduated with distinction with a diploma in painting. Besides painting, I’m fascinated by interior design, applied arts and design. I would like to develop in this direction as well. I love Scandinavian design, especially I love Marimekko and Nämä by Ruth Landessa.

– Aga

We don’t know what is guiding us in art and …that’s fantastic.

Where do you find inspiration to your art?

We don’t know what is guiding us in art and …that’s fantastic. Sometimes it’s an impulse, reflex, small thing, which opens brand new space.

14 years ago I found inspiration for my abstract works on the Swedish Orust island. That’s where all began. I found the bridge which is the most beautiful and important for me – the landscape of my life. It was a metaphysical moment, a moment of reflection.

This place began to resonate with my heart and became an inspiration for my sketches and paintings from the “Bridges” series. Eventually bridge has become the theme of my works.

What captivated me in this place are soothing, pastel landscapes, full of peace and tranquility, raw wood, simplicity, sea and amazing northern light. Bridges/piers that are phenomenal and unique in Scandinavia, because they are beautifully inscribed in the space of the rocky coast.

The works are attempts to create an image of the moment – not only the image of a bridge or the sea, but a state of mind somewhere between the land and the sea. It’s more about capturing the mood, light, color, shades of the sea, rhythm, than literal illustration. These bridges are more in feeling than in pure interpretation. These are moments of reflection and attempt to capture the idea of eternity.

The works are attempts to create an image of the moment

My painting is abstract but it is based on an image which falls apart during the process of painting

How would you define your style?

My style is a combination of expression and pursuance to silence. Colour is also very important to me as well as strong lines and gestures.

My painting is abstract but it is based on an image that falls apart during the process of painting. This process is a chance to capture the tension between dynamic and vivid movements and tranquility.

My painting is abstract but it is based on an image that falls apart during the process of painting.

Can you name three artists that you admire the work of?

Franz Kline is my first beloved painter. I love his expressive, spontaneous and bold style, focusing not on the figure, but on the movements of the brush and the use of canvas. The images are strong and very graphic.

Next is Marc Chagall. His art is unique. All images are light, delicate with blurred contours. In some works, figures literally float in the air. I love his pastel colours and intentionally chaotic arrangement of figures. His vivid and wonderfully selected colors make the biggest impression on me.

My third favorite painter is the Swedish artist Arne Isacsson. I discovered him few years ago at an exhibition at Nordiska Akvarellmuseet. Nature, especially in Bohuslän, was his greatest source of inspiration. He studied the course of the seasons and changes of light in rocks and the sea. Such concept is very close to my heart. I love his clean, figurative compositions with clear layers of colours, overlapping each other, beautifully poetically simplified.

Photos are often the inspiration for black and white sketches.

How does your painting studio look like? And what are some of your must have inspiring objects in your studio?

My studio is my “bridge” hung on the last floor of eleven floors building. It’s glass-paneled with lots of light. I love being here and create.

This is a very special place for me. It calms me down. I find balance here. I rest in work here.

In my studio, apart from a jug with good tea, there is always music without which I can’t imagine my painting. It’s like oxygen filling this place. I also have a lot of items reminding me of traveling to Sweden – shells, stones, albums with paintings, and a lot of pictures of beloved bridges. Photos are often the inspiration for black and white sketches. Later I create from the images in color.

If you could choose any place and wall, where would you love your art to be displayed?

Galleri Röda Stugan Astol Sweden
It is an inconspicuous place, a small red wooden house on the island of Astol, surrounded by the sea. This is an ideal place for my paintings and sketches. My piers could perfectly match the sea view. I imagine exhibition there as kind of performance of the unbelievable Scandinavian light which gives another layers of colours changing during the day and the sea that changes during the day as well.

Nordiska Akvarellmuseet Skärhamn Sweden
This is an amazing, glass-panelled place, surrounded by piers, water and rocks. I really love it. I visit this place every summer since 14 years. I admire all those wonderful exhibitions always prepared with great care.

Louisiana Museum of Modern Art Denmark
Like Akvarellmuseet – this place has an amazing location and atmosphere. I spent an amazing day there surrounded by art and beautiful views.