KAROLINA SZWED (born 1997 in Bielsko-Biała)
Studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice (graduated in 2022). Lives and works in Warsaw.
Her work creates situations that are at once autobiographical and detached from personal identity, capable of unfolding anytime and anywhere. She is drawn to strange scenarios, objects as bearers of sentimental value and symbolic meaning, as well as motifs and archetypes that carry greater cultural significance.
Part of the honesty in her work is practical and immediate, stemming from the in-the-moment way she paints. The other part is more conceptual and structuring, as reflected in balancing of internal and external focalization.
mentions/press:
The Apple of my Eye @ the dorf
Floor Level @ saliva.live
Thaw/Roztopy Munich @ Kuba Paris
Vogue Poland ‘Hi, Stranger’ review
interview for Hygge Blog
DJ serwitut Soft Trigger review
works printed in ART MONITOR vol. 26
NADA Villa Warsaw with Alyssa Davis gallery
on view:
Bielska Jesień biennale, Galeria Bielska BWA, 2025
Dom dzienny, Dom nocny, group show, MOCAK, Cracow
Pejzaże jeszcze dalekiego świtu, group show curated by Marta Lisok, Rondo Sztuki, Katowice - September 2025
Memories in Motion, group show curated by Geraud Jean Claude, Galeria Yusto/Giner, Marbella, Spain
Pomyśl o innych, pomyśl o sobie. Artyści i Artystki na rzecz osób z doświadczeniem uchodźstwa, group show, MSN, Warsaw
selected shows:
2025
Hangover Shanghai with Turnus gallery
The Apple of my Eye, solo show, JVDW gallery, Dusseldorf
Vienna Contemporary with Bliss gallery, 2025
Rozłącze, group show, Złącze, Poznań
Neue Stimmung, group show curated by Janek Owczarek and Piotr Policht, GGM1, Gdańsk
30.05.2025 - 14.09.2025
Floor Level, duo show with Lulu Nuti, curated by Kasia Piskorz, Bliss gallery, Warsaw
12.06.2025 - 26.07.2025
Roztopy/Thaw with Łęctwo gallery, Gig Munich, Tiger Room gallery - a part of Various Others Munich
Alice Amati online viewing room, London
2024
solo show: Soft Trigger at Who is Pola, Warsaw
group show: Hi, Stranger, Who is Pola, plac Hallera 6, Warsaw
Neurotypie, Rotacyjny Dom Kultury Jazdów, Warsaw
CRASH CLUB, Warsaw
GLOW DOWN, Windowlicker, Warsaw
Moja droga witrynko..., the ING Polish Art Foundation with Turnus, Podgląd gallery, Warsaw
part of ROZBIEG 2.0, networking programme for young promising artists, Katowice-Tarnow-Cracow
NADA Villa Warsaw fair, Alyssa Davis Gallery NY, Warsaw
April 25 - May 25: MNFST, Metropolitan, Warsaw
Lepkie Uściski Dłoni, Art Walk, Warsaw
2023
Otwarcie Nowej Karowej, Sklep Galeria Karowa na Okręgu, Warsaw
Post Truth (...), Kunstleben Kreuzberg, Berlin
GRAND OPENING, Szałfynster, Katowice
MASA KRYTYCZNA, Oblatów 4, Katowice
Uwierz w ducha, Windowlicker, Warsaw
Tip of my Tongue, Pola Magnetyczne, Warsaw
Post Truth: Countering Disinformation Narratives, Poznan
LARGO, Wolne Pokoje, Dąbrowa as a part of Spokój Festival
Drzwi Zamknięte, Pralnia|LABA, Tarnowskie Góry
2022
Migracje, BWA Katowice