KAROLINA OBUCHOWSKA

Karolina Obuchowska was born in 1983 in Gdansk Poland. Currently she lives and creates in her atelier in Sopot.

ARTIST'S STATEMENT

Reaching The Inner Essence

     "Through my art, I strive to reveal a sense of spiritual presence within the human. Though I am fascinated with the beauty of the human body, this is a glimpse of an Inner Essence that excites me the most.

     I endeavor towards blending my passion for painting with my enthusiasm for delving deep into the spheres that explore the universal truths about the psyche and spirituality of the human. There is that deep need in me to develop knowledge in the fields of consciousness, philosophy, mysticism, alchemy, and symbolism. I explore them – with a syncretic approach – in search of confrontation and verification with my own observations, experiences, and understanding of the universal truths embedded within The Inner Essence – the truths that correspond to the most profound “reality” in humans.

Why painting?

     "When I ask myself this question, all my thoughts, regardless of the starting point, lead to the same conclusion, that painting is my emotional response to the longing for the Beauty and the depth of life. The depth of relationships, the depth of feeling, the depth of existence.

     Beauty means something different to everyone, so I won't describe what it looks like
- I can only try to name how it affects me. Beauty moves my soul to such an extent, that I feel as if it reaches the very Essence of my existence. It makes my ordinary life wonderful and rich.

     I would like more and more of Beauty in my life - I feel that I cannot be fully satisfied 
with it… I endlessly long for Beauty!

     For me the cure for longing is painting, which can soothe my soobbing heart- and as a tool of expression - it has this extraordinary potential to express and externalize my soul.
Through painting, I celebrate the reunion with my own soul.

     I feel this is my mission to keep the divine, creative fire burning and pass on the Beauty that I was honored to experience."

BECOMING AN ARTIST

How did it start?

     "My journey with art started in my 30’s. The sudden awakening of creative energy within me made me hungry for all artistic activities. From a hobby-less “finance person,” I turned into a nearly wild woman, burning with passion for Art.
     An unintentional transformation process has begun. The urgent need for expression led me to the unknown, frightening, yet fascinating, and tempting gates of the art world. I was desperately trying to release my energy – through the first, shy attempts at drawing, painting, writing, playing piano, and sculpting."

Why humans?

     "I’ll bring you closer to how I feel about the human body by quoting the notes from my diary. I wrote it a couple of years ago, while I was becoming enchanted by the beauty of the human figure:

“(…) Today, I caught myself obsessively observing faces. It’s so embarrassing to admit, but I am so absorbed in exploring my friends’ facial features that I am not listening to what they are saying! How rude of me! They all think I am such a great listener, but the fact is, I am so busy discovering their beauty that none of their words reach my consciousness!
Am I being obsessed???
I love watching the play of lights and shadows across the face, examining the shape of the nose, the fullness of the lips, the heaviness of the eyelids. I am mesmerized by the view of the cool greenish veins showing through the warm yellowish pink skin, by the forms created by the bones and muscles, and my beloved reddish skin on the fingertips, knees, and ears. I love watching the muscles when the calves are on the move, and I desperately love to look at stringy hands. Yes, hands are definitely the most harmed victims of my intense, prolonged, insistent staring (…)”

     My fascination and curiosity led me to study anatomy books – the knowledge of what’s underneath the skin made my observations even more absorbing!

     It is all way more captivating than I ever imagined!

      It turned out that Beauty was underneath my nose through all my life – how could it be that I didn’t see it THAT WAY before?

Before I even realized, I was in the snares of the divine beauty of the human figure."