Horizons
By Tina Lee
GALERIE D"AVIGNON
With their low horizon lines, sculpted cloud formations and chiaroscuro lighting, Elzbieta’s swelling sky-scapes recall the compositional techniques reminiscent of Van Ruisdael’s View of Haarlem from the Dunes at Oveveen (1670). Continuing the tradition of seventeenth-century Dutch landscape paintings, where the sky or water fills almost three-quarters of the picture space, Elzbieta’s personal take on the landscape is further touched by the quality of her own contemporaneity and nostalgia for turner’s subtle treatment of light and space, Caravaggio’s dramatic use of tenebresco, Monet’s organization of tone and pattern, and the forceful energy of nineteenth-century Polish painters like Chelmonski, Gierymski and Kotsis.
Elzbieta's paintings depict large open spaces, such as skies and surfaces, defined by pattern formations which seem to always be on the brink of change.
Her skyscapes are an ongoing exploration of the nature of light and its potential to describe space in terms of movement. In her approach to the ever-changing subject matter of landscape, Elzbieta strives to capture the constant movement of the skies and of light itself, which results in an atmospheric blurring of boundaries between masses of land, bodies of water, and sky - between solid and void, matter and light.
At times seeping with the rich hues of a sublime sunset or the brooding darkness of an impending storm the paintings are at once inviting and ominous to the viewer. Despite the variance among Elzbieta’s skyscapes, the ultimate thesis underlying her series is the ubiquitous nature of the sky. This is to say, the sky refers to a universal space of collective, rather than individual, memory.
Her skyscapes are an ongoing exploration of the nature of light and its potential to describe space in terms of movement. In her approach to the ever-changing subject matter of landscape, Elzbieta strives to capture the constant movement of the skies and of light itself, which results in an atmospheric blurring of boundaries between masses of land, bodies of water, and sky - between solid and void, matter and light.
At times seeping with the rich hues of a sublime sunset or the brooding darkness of an impending storm the paintings are at once inviting and ominous to the viewer. Despite the variance among Elzbieta’s skyscapes, the ultimate thesis underlying her series is the ubiquitous nature of the sky. This is to say, the sky refers to a universal space of collective, rather than individual, memory.
Twig : Capturing the essence of a place
By Tara Bradbury
THE TELEGRAM Aug 31st, 2012
A world where light and movement are tangible; where sky and water are ever-changing; where some features of the landscape call for thick, opaque paint while others whisper for translucent glazes of thin washes — this is Elzbieta Krawecka’s Newfoundland and Labrador.
Based in Toronto, Krawecka has been coming to this province for more than a decade, first as an artist in residence at the now-defunct Pouch Cove Foundation, and then as an artist represented by James Baird Gallery. Raised in Poland, Krawecka says she developed an eye for old-world aesthetics, and earned an appreciation for travel after spending some time living in Kuwait. She moved to Toronto to attend the Ontario College of Art and Design, where she says she picked up a love for Canadian landscapes. Krawecka began her career as an illustrator, but quickly decided she’d rather paint for herself than anyone else.
Since the early 1990s she’s been exhibiting her work solo and as part of group shows across the country, and in this province since 2002, when she took part in Baird’s “Water” exhibit. Next month, Krawecka’s solo exhibit “Twig” will open at the James Baird Gallery in Pouch Cove. “It has been a delight to exhibit her ever-evolving work locally,” Baird told The Telegram. “‘Twig’ shows the range of her talents in depicting the coast, the ocean, the barrens and the woods. I adore how she depicts Newfoundland, the magical light, the mauzy air, the sense of place. It’s unsurprising to me that many of her works find their way to homes in expats around the world.”
“Twig” is a collection of 12 pieces, inspired by both Newfoundland and the Canadian Arctic, which Krawecka and her two-year-old son visited last fall, with Adventure Canada. “We started out in Greenland and then went to Baffin Island, with stops along the way at communities, and we saw a lot of icebergs and a lot of mist, and obviously a lot of movement on the ocean,” Krawecka said. “I just loved the open spaces up there, and I love that about Newfoundland as well — the trees are so short, you can see so far.” Large, open spaces are what Krawecka does best, and her paintings are dominated by sky and water, and the various patterns they, continuously moving, create. Her palette is generally muted, lending her paintings either an salty air feel or a more sombre tone. Krawecka’s interests lie not in capturing an exact geographical location as much as the essence of a place, the way it glows, the way it moves. “I find that Newfoundland has such specific light, particularly at dawn, and so it’s more about capturing the essence and more of a universal idea of the collective memory rather than a single focal point on a specific place,” she explained. For Baird, most of Krawecka’s most successful paintings are not identifiable as specific places. “Perhaps I can best express it when cribbing from Stephen Spender, who was at college with the acclaimed poet W.H. Auden, who was renowned for his ability to recite endless lines of others’ poetry,” Baird said. “Spender lacked that parrot-like ability. Rather, when he read poetry, he was looking for the space between the lines in an attempt to recapture the moment of feeling that inspired the poet to place pen to paper. At her best, Elzbieta captures those grace notes and makes them her own.”
Krawecka paints in oil from her own photographs, finding plein air work — completed on site, outdoors — too distracting. Her technique is also more suited to the studio: based on glazing techniques of the old European masters, Krawecka applies a thick underpainting, then uses thin layers of washes and a glaze as well as thick layers applied with a palette knife to execute her work, giving it depth and relief. As a result, her pieces are textured, with clouds, mist or the spray of the ocean lifting off the canvas. “It just seems natural somehow, that I would want some parts of the painting to feel like they’re heavier and more grounded, and some other parts a bit looser and more flowing,” Krawecka said. “That helps to create movement.” Though there may be plenty of movement in the hustle and bustle of Toronto, it’s not her focus, and none of Krawecka’s recent works depict anything to do with her city. There’s something not only about the water, but about the Atlantic Ocean in particular that draws Krawecka to it. “I’ve spent some time on the west coast, actually lived on the west coast, and I just couldn’t connect to it,” she said. “I find that in Newfoundland especially, what really attracts me to making paintings from there is the fact that, to me, it just feels like the environment is so alive and raw. The water, the sky, the light, it’s forever changing and I really love that.”
Anchor - Motion. Fluidity. Solitude.
By Wendy Rose
THE TELEGRAM Aug 16th, 2013
Rolling waves and foggy, barren marshes are common sights to those who call this island home. It’s easy to lose the edge of awe beauty sometimes shrouded by it every day. Sometimes it takes a fresh set of eyes, or in this case, a set of oil paints, a canvas and an artist by the name of Elzbieta Krawecka to remind us locals of how truly lucky we are to be surrounded by such intense rugged beauty.
No stranger to foreign landscapes, Krawecka grew up in Poland and spent her teenage years in the Middle East. After finishing high school in Kuwait, she began hunting for post-secondary arts programs, which led her to the Ontario College of Art and Design. “We really loved Canada from the get-go,” the artist said, reflecting on her maiden voyage to this country with her parents in the mid ’80s. Since completing her arts program in 1994, Krawecka has established herself as a fine artist in the Toronto art scene. “I’m based in Toronto but I’ve moved around a lot. I spent a year in London, England. I lived in Montreal for a year. I’ve traveled all over the world but in terms of home; I lived in Montreal, London, Vancouver Island and northern B.C., close to the border of the Yukon and Alaska,” Krawecka said.
For all modern artist travelling is inspirational and motivational. “Although she has experienced many different scenes in nature, Krawecka said that Newfoundland has been, and continues to be, a very important source of inspiration for her landscape pieces for the last decade. “I’m not saying this just because I am in Newfoundland,” Krawecka said with a laugh. “I started coming out here 12 years ago for the artist residency with Jim (Baird). I’ve been coming here basically every two years, if not every year, and I have to say that Newfoundland is probably 70-75 per cent of my overall painting inspiration. I think it’s the European heritage, I really feel that it’s still here and present in Newfoundland and St. John’s. That, coupled with the large open spaces like the ocean and the barrens, is a majority of my inspiration. Not to say that there aren’t other places that have inspired me or that I have painted, but I’m mostly inspired by big landscapes, open spaces where you can feel that vastness” “You can feel like you’re really alone.” “It almost feels like everything else gets blocked out while allowing me to get much more in tune with my thoughts which is very difficult when you’re bombarded by every day information, people and just constant stimulation. It allows me to escape and just think about breathing and existing.” “I am drawn mostly to skies and water. I would say that is my preliminary subject matter. That connection with water, there’s just something about it,” Krawecka explained.
The real beauty of Krawecka landscapes is how she seems to be able to capture and express a stillness in time. The artist has her own set of tricks to help recreate a moment from past. “I work from pictures. As I take the picture I’m already planning out the painting. I’ll take a bunch of pictures and work from all of them to bring back the feeling I had at the time, that feeling of whatever it was that inspired me to paint that particular landscape. It’s not really so much about reproducing the exact place. It’s more about the inspiration and what drew me to want to capture that feeling. I don’t usually sketch because I find it too distracting. I prefer to just absorb and take pictures. The pictures bring me back to that particular moment.” “Morning Tale,” a massive 40 x 60 oil painting, waves explode upon a sandy beach in a way that can only be described as photorealistic. Another seascape, titled “Everything Is Waiting,” acts as a telepathic device, pushing you the viewer to imagine the smell of the ocean and feel the salt air on their cheeks. Here, I see landscapes that are sort of more fluid.
In Newfoundland, everything seems really fluid whether it’s the ocean or that forever-changing light. And the weather even from one minute to the next. I was just standing upstairs watching the light change and the whole landscape looks different from five minutes ago to now.” Krawecka is taking scenic Pouch Cove during her visit, conveniently close to the James Baird Gallery where her exhibit “Anchor” opens Saturday.
“I decided to title this show ‘Anchor’ because that is what keeps bringing me back here; that feeling that I get when I’m here, that grounded feeling,” Krawecka explained. “Anchor” is the third exhibit Krawecka has held at Baird’s gallery in Pouch Cove. She has previously showcased work at Baird’s gallery in downtown St. John’s on four separate shows. This upcoming exhibit will showcase 14 landscape pieces which are inspired by Newfoundland. A lot of the pieces involve water. That crashing wave, that moment — Krawecka created off, making a theatrical swooping and plummeting motion with her hands. “It’s all about motion and fluidity but also that grounded feeling. I guess it’s a bit of dichotomy, in a sense,” the artist said with a laugh.
When asked if she has ever entertained the thought of making a permanent move to the province she loves so much, Krawecka said she hasn’t really thought about moving away from Toronto, but she will “never say never.”
Two artists, same subject
By Rob Alexander
ROCKY MOUNTAIN OUTLOOK
Even though Krawecka is new to the established Banff gallery - although recognized in other parts of Canada , (the gallery director) Barbara Pelham added that it is unusual for a new artist to be included in an exhibition so quickly, but it was an easy move based on the strength of Krawecka’a’s work.
"She is capturing landscape and mountains in a very interesting way. She blends and bridges a very traditional, almost historic stvle of painting, timeless with a more contemporary edge. " Pelham said.
Krawecka has exhibited work in Ontario since 1997 and also exhibits in Vancouver and Newfoundland. She was awarded first prize at the Ontario Society for Artists Juried Show in Toronto in 2007. Krawecka said Tuesday she uses a glazing, an Old Masters technique, along with thick paint and visible paint strokes, to create depth in her paintings, which lends itself to her subject matter, namely the sky and its manv moods.
"Most of my work has to do with the sky, fog, anything that is ephemeral, anything that is on the move or changing - the last little bit of light. "She is capturing landscape and that is about to disappear or change, That is what draws me to the subject matter she said.
When mountains such as those in Torres del Paine National Park, Chile, appear in her work, they are secondary subject, used as a vehicle for Krawecka to capture the fog, the light and the clouds. And when these peaks do appear, they lose some of their detail and become less specific and more representational "Its representational based on Old Masters' techniques with a contemporary take on it, she said.
Interior Design Publications
House and Home - Nov 2003/2012/2022
Toronto Home - Winter 2012/2011
The Curated House - Oct 2012
Home Decor - Framing 411 - CBC STEVEN AND CHRIS SHOW
Toronto Home - Winter 2012/2011
The Curated House - Oct 2012
Home Decor - Framing 411 - CBC STEVEN AND CHRIS SHOW
LANDSCAPE ARTIST
OF THE YEAR CANADA
OF THE YEAR CANADA
Landscape Artist of The Year Canada 2019 - LAOTYC
Aired on Makeful TV and CBC gem.
Aired on Makeful TV and CBC gem.
A sister series to the UK show. Eighteen artists from across Canada are invited to compete for the title Landscape Artist of The Year, in a four hour painting session at a surprise plein air location in Ontario.
Hosted by Sook-Yin Lee. Judges: Marc Mayer, Joanne Todd and McMichael Canadian Art Collection Director Ian Dejardin.
