Contemporary Artist
Ania Ruszkowski is a contemporary UK-Polish artist and member of The Association of Polish Artists in Great Britain. Born from migrant parents who moved to Britain after the Second World War, her paintings weave an intricate pattern, intertwine her identity, her heritage and her culture, become a rich tapestry decorated with the threads of her history, her soul, her life.
Ania's tabletops are dressed and adorned in celebration of her Anglo-Polish culture. She uses both Polish poetry books by Czeslaw Milosz and Laura Ashley tablecloths, promotional posters for Mazowsze Polish folk dancers and British-designed wallpapers, Boleslaw Polish pottery teacups and Habitat vases, places her two nationalities side-by-side. Her still lifes are a blend of objects, a patchwork of symbols, that unite the two cultures, that connect her to her motherlands.
Her work bears the hand of Polish folk artists and graphic designers like Waldemar Swierzy, carries the touch of contemporary still life painters such as Nikki Maloof and Hilary Pecis, are embellished with inspirations old and new.
Having completed a Degree in Contemporary Portraiture at the Art Academy London, Ania seeks to preserve and protect, to showcase her Anglo-Polish culture. Her paintings are a room of curiosity and comfort, a tie to her parents, a link to those who have passed. She paints a space of belonging, a safe home, a place in which to settle, rooted in her past, sealed with passion and pride.
Exhibitions and Awards
-
Selected for the Women in Art Exhibition at Pall Mall Galleries London (2024)
-
'Celebrating Cultural Diversity' WeR1 collaboration sponsored by Cass Art (2024)
-
be Light’ Collaborative Exhibition with the Association of Polish Artists, POSK (2024)
-
‘Recreating Home’ Solo Exhibition, POSK -The Polish Social and Cultural Centre London (2024)
-
Short Listed for the National Portrait Gallery’s Herbet Smith Freehills Portrait Award 2024
-
Winner of the Polish Academy of Social Sciences and Humanities International Competition for the Polish Artist of the Year (2023)
-
Solo Exhibition-Mamuska's Gallery Space South Bank London (2023)
-
The Cass Art Award Winner- Art Academy Graduate Show (2023)
-
Chelsea Art Society's Summer Exhibition (2023)
-
Inside Out An artist's collaboration Newington Library (2021) : INSIDE OUT (google.com)