Paola Ciarska

Paola Ciarska

Paola Ciarska revels, excites and rejoices in the unrestrained potential of imagination. Each miniature painting stars a solitary figure, often wielding a selfie-stick, living out a virtual fantasy from the comfort of her living room (or sometimes the kitchen bench). The viewer is turned into a voyeur, spying on the indulgent private moments of an anonymous anti-hero that could easily be any one of us.

The paintings have a physical presence that far exceeds their small scale. Each work is packed with painterly detail. Rooms are filled with the trinkets of modern life, decorated with reproductions of modern masters and adorned with fairy-lights, all set against a psychedelic (and mildly suggestive) patterned background. Ciarska enjoys the labour of a marathon painting session, getting lost in the haze of its intricate, obsessive application.

Paola Ciarska was born in 1993 in Gdańsk, Poland, and lives and works in Gateshead, UK. She participated in a talk entitled ‘Home Girls: An Evening of Women Redefining the Domestic Sphere’, organised by Contemporary Lynx at Calvert 22, London and features in the illustrated book ‘Off the Wall – Art of the Absurd’ published by Visionary. Her recent exhibitions include ‘Gewoon Bijzonder (Extra Ordinary)’, a city wide group show with 38CC at Museum Paul Tetar van Elven, Delft (2019-2020); ‘I haven't left the house in 5 days please send help’ at Galerie Emmanuel Hervé, Paris (2019); ‘Cześć, pani Ciarska’ at iMT Gallery, London (2018); ‘Worried Mother’, curated by MILK at Workplace Gallery, Gateshead (2016); ‘Feeling Safer’, curated by Mark Jackson at Brooklyn Fireproof, New York (2016); ‘Curious? Festival’ at Bamburgh House, Newcastle (2016); and ‘BRINK’ at Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, (2012). 

She has completed a solo commission and exhibition with Ludovit Fulla Gallery of the Slovak National Gallery, a commission for the luxury travel brand Rimowa and presented a solo booth with iMT Gallery at Art Rotterdam in 2019. She recently exhibited in ‘Givin u coy givin u smize’ with Sadé Mica and Salut C’est Cool at iMT Gallery, London (2020); and has a group show ‘Casa Dolce Casa’ at 22,48m2, Paris in September 2020. She has recently been reviewed in Art Forum, Candid Magazine, Contemporary Lynx and The Calvert Journal, and has work in the Hatton Gallery collection.

Exhibitions at Gallagher & Turner:
Coming Along Nicely
10th February - 15th March 2017

101 Years of British Art
15th September - 21st October 2017