Irena Podolak, Cio Cio San

100x100, acrylic on canvas, 2024

Irena Podolak was born in Krakow, Poland, in a home where art was an integral part of everyday life. She spent her childhood in the studio of her father, a painter and sculptor, which shaped her artistic sensibility. She graduated from numerous art schools in Krakow and honed her skills in various studios, still searching for her own creative path. She is a member of the Association of Polish Artists in Opole. Since 2016, she has been running her art studio in Krakow's Kazimierz district - a place for artists to meet, carry out inspiring projects and run art workshops for children and young people.

As an artist with a complex personality, Podolak is constantly searching for truth in the surrounding world, in painting, sculpture and visual arts. Since 2013, she has been painting icons, creating works inspired by folk art and rooted in tradition. She works on old wood, which she treats herself, giving it new life. Her icons are unique, as each is created according to her own rules - she avoids duplicating patterns, which makes her works unique.

Podolak's easel paintings provide a space for the search for modernity, the avant-garde and her own language of expression. The main theme of her work is man - his essence, spirituality and emotions. The artist explores the genesis of human behavior, the interpretation of identity and makes the viewer reflect. Animals and issues related to the protection of their lives and welfare are also an important theme in her works. In her abstract paintings, created mainly in acrylic technique, she freely combines work with paint spatula and brush, moving with lightness in different media.

Throughout her career, Irena Podolak has participated in more than 100 exhibitions in Poland and abroad, sharing her artistic view of the world.