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Joanna Pilarczyk Radecka is a London-based contemporary painter and art educator. She was born in 1980 in Gubin, a Polish town on the borders of Germany, and she started painting and drawing at the age of five. She went to Art College in 1995 in Zielona Gora and after five years she was awarded a diploma from the painting faculty. In 2003, she went on to study Visual Arts where she earned her MA degree in Art Education, specialising in oil painting in 2008.
After moving to London 10 years ago from her native Poland, Joanna fell in love with the city immediately. Amazed and entranced by diverse cultures and the vibrant energy, she took her sketchbook everywhere, indiscriminately and discreetly recording people on the streets, in parks and cafes. As she grew more settled, in her new environment, Joanna began to paint oil portraits of new acquaintances and friends within the artist community of North London.
Pilarczyk has exhibited widely in her native Poland, and since moving to London, UK has continued to show her work at exhibitions and Art Fairs, at venues such as the Fitzrovia and Boomer Gallery, Candid Arts Trust, Autonomous Gallery, Hive Dalston and The Other Art Fair – virtual edition, London. Her paintings from 'Intimate Times' series are currently exhibited at Mixx Atelier Gallery in Telluride, Colorado, US. Her artworks are showcased at the virtual solo and group exhibitions organised by the Visionary Art Collective, Art Mums United ,The Curator's Salon, the Visionary Projects and Art to Hearts Project.
Joanna's work has been featured in various publications as: All She Makes, Create Magazine and Art Seen. Pilarczyk is one of the finalists of Women United Art Prize 2021.
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My paintings from ‘Intimate Times’ series were created during time of isolation.
In my colourfully decorated flat filled with plants, and isolated from family and friends, my surroundings and my partner became my only world, more intensely experienced and observed than ever before. My heightened observations led to the creation of these paintings - ordinary but touching intimate scenes of our everyday life enveloped by light, colour, patterns and textures of our shared home-cum- studio- the other character in my paintings.
My recent artworks showcase beautiful moments from my life with my partner Jarek Radecki (also an artist) in the past year. Though the paintings depict us physically together in the same room and also alone, they reflect our mental state in the extraordinary situation that we all found ourselves in 2021. I never thought I would live so intensely and intimately with just one other person even though I think of him as my soulmate - this situation affected my hopes, dreams and doubts as I was afraid of new future after Covid-19. We were both so lucky to have each other but were also unable to escape each other and had to figure out a way to be together and also be alone within the confines of our shared living space.
Much of my work from this time focuses on self-portrait and what I found in our relationship during this time together, sharing moments in quiet without words spoken.
My big pleasure is to observe the light and play with it, find a good composition and translate the reality into painted emotions. I want the viewer to feel the sunlight from my pictures, to enjoy colour and the positive atmosphere. I like to share a piece of my small, intimate space where I can still find the inspiration.
