Her artworks have even crossed international borders, with her paintings from the 'Intimate Times' series being exhibited at 33 Contemporary Gallery in Chicago and Mixx Atelier Gallery in Telluride, USA. Moreover, she contributed her art to the 'Memories in Hindsight' group show at J/M Gallery in Notting Hill, London. Pilarczyk’s paintings have been featured in publications including Create! Magazine, Art Seen, Women United Art Magazine and Boynes Artist Award.
Joanna Pilarczyk is a London-based contemporary figurative painter. Born in Poland, Pilarczyk studied at the Art University in Zielona Gora, where she earned a Master's degree in Visual Arts and Art Education.
Pilarczyk's artistic talent has earned her recognition and accolades. She was recently shortlisted for the Herbert Smith Freehills Portrait Award 2024 at the National Portrait Gallery. In 2023, she was the recipient of the Boynes Monthly Artist Award and a finalist for the International FiKVA Award for Figurative Painters and the Women United Art Prize in both 2022 and 2021. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including at prestigious venues like Mall Galleries at Women in Art Fair, Start Art Fair in Saatchi Gallery and the Other Art Fair in Truman Brewery, London. Additionally, she showcased her newest paintings at a solo show with Oink Gallery, featuring pieces from her 'My Paradise' series. Furthermore, Joanna actively participated in the Spring and Summer editions of the Other Art Fair in 2024 - 2022.
Prize:
Shortlisted for Herbert Smith Freehills Portrait Award 2024 by the National Portrait Gallery.
Winner of the Boynes Monthly Art Award, November 2023, Painting category, International.
Finalist of the FiKVA International Award for Painters 2023, International.
Winner of the Boynes Monthly Artist Award, November 2022, Painting category, International.
Finalist in Women United Art Prize 2022, Painting & Drawing category, International.
Finalist in ‘Women United Art Prize 2021, Painting & Drawing category, International.
Artist of the Month September 2022, Medium: Painting, Art from Heart Platform, UK
Recent chosen Exhibitions:
2024 - The Male Figure, Kunstbehandlung Gallery, Munich, Germany
2024 - The Other Art Fair, London, UK
2024 - Artsy Foundations, MiXX Projects + Atelier Gallery, Online Art Fair, Winter Edition, International
2023 - ‘Women in Art Fair’, Mall Galleries, London.
2023 - ‘Boundless Whispers, Eve Leibe Gallery on Artsy, curated by Artsin Square, International
2023 - ‘Still’ group exhibition, Art Fluent, International
2023 - The Other Art Fair, Truman Brewery, London, UK
2022 - StART Art Fair, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK
2022 - ‘My Paradise’, Solo Exhibition, Oink Gallery, 29 July -29th August, Swindon, UK
2022 - ‘Liberating the Flesh’ group show, 33 Contemporary Gallery, 15 July - 2 September, Chicago, US
2022 - The Other Art Fair, West Handyside Canopy, 30 June -3ed July, London, UK
2022 - The Other Art Fair, Old Truman Brewery, 17-20 March 2022, London, UK
2022 - ‘Spring Awakening’, Mixx Atelier Gallery, Telluride, Colorado, US
Publications:
2023, Create Magazine, Issue 40, Curated Section by Ekaterina Popova, Alicia Puig, Kristina Nafziger, https://www.createmagazine.com/blog/celebrating-art-and-laughter-create-magazines-7th-anniversary-issue-is-here-issue-40
2023, Create Magazine, Issue 39, Curated Section, https://createmagazine.shop/collections/print-issues/products/create-magazine-issue-39-the-water-issue
2023, Beautiful Bizarre Magazine, Entries 2023 Art Prize, https://beautifulbizarreartprize.art/beautiful-bizarre-art-prize-2023-traditional-art-entries/?v=79cba1185463
2023, Women United Art Magazine, Issue III, pages 62 -65, https://www.womenunitedartmovement.com/magazine
2023, Women United Art Magazine, Special Edition 2023, https://www.womenunitedartmovement.com/magazine
2023, Arterald - Interview with Joanna Pilarczyk, https://arterald.com/p/joanna-pilarczyk
2023, Cosimo Studio Tours - Joanna Pilarczyk - interview and podcast, https://www.cosimo.art/blog/studio-tours-an-interview-with-joanna-pilarczyk
2023, Boynes Emerging Artist Award, Artist Joanna Pilarczyk - interview, https://boynesartistaward.com/interviews/artist-joanna-pilarczyk
2022, Suboart Magazine, The vibrant world of Joanna Pilarczyk Radecka, https://suboartmagazine.com/2022/12/30/in-conversation-with-joanna-pilarczyk-radecka/
2022, Women United Art Magazine, Issue 1, pages 66-69
2022, The Huts Magazine, Issue 6, page 117, https://thehutsmagazine.com/
2022, New Visionary, Issue 3, pages 24 -27, https://www.visionaryartcollective.com/magazine
2022, The Bite Magazie, page 268-271, https://www.thebitemag.com/issue31/270/
2022, Art Seen, Issue 4, pages 78-81, 102, https://thecuratorssalon.com/
2022, The Huts Magazine, Issue 4, pages 72 - 77, https://thehutsmagazine.com/
2022, New Visionary, Issue 1, page 101, 106, https://www.visionaryartcollective.com/magazine
2022, All She Makes, Winter Edition, Issue 4, pages 122 - 123, https://www.allshemakes.org/magazine
2022, Create! Magazine, Issue28, pages 50, 52, 53, https://createmagazine.com/read/introducing-issue-28-create-magazines-five-year-anniversary-edition
2021, Haringey Community Press, December edition, Art & Culture, page 10, 11, 14, https://haringeycommunitypress.co.uk/download
2021, The Huts Magazine, Issue 3, Yesterday, Today every day, page 94, https://www.thehutsmagazine.com
2021, Create! Magazine, Finding Special Moments In Ordinary Situations: Interview With Joanna Pilarczyk, editor: Christina Nafziger
https://createmagazine.com/read/2021/12/1/finding-special-moments-in-ordinary-situations-interview-with-joanna-pilarczyk
2021 ART SEEN, Issue 2, Autumn/Winter, Editor: Gita Joshi, s 76-77, https://thecuratorssalon.com/blog//art-seen-issue-2-winter-2021
2021 All She Makes, Issue 3, Gaze exhibition curated by Arts to Hearts Project and All She Makes.
2021 Create! Magazine, Issue 27, https://createmagazine.com/read/create-magazine-issue-27-contemporary-art
2021 Visionary Art Collective, Intimate Portraits - Interview, https://www.visionaryartcollective.com/interviews/joanna-pilarczyk-radecka
2021 Singulart, Singulart Magazine for Contemporary Art Collectors, Printed Issue Fall - Winter
2021 All She Makes, Art Magazine Issue 2
2021 Singulart, Body Positivity with our Artists, https://blog.singulart.com/en/2021/09/17/celebrating-body-positivity-with-our-artists/
2021 Art Mums United - Dreaming Flowers, https://www.artmumsunited.com/exhibits
2021 Mixx Atelier, In the Studio - Joanna Pilarczyk, https://www.mixxatelier.com/2021/07/in-the-studio-joanna-pilarczyk/?mc_cid=d4ecffb0b2&mc_eid=2d1a1780fc
2021 Visionary Art Collective, Intimate Times, https://www.visionaryartcollective.com/exhibitions/solo-exhibition-joanna-pilarczyk
2021 Visionary Art Collective, ‘Joanna Pilarczyk Radecka’, https://www.visionaryartcollective.com/artist-directory/joanna-radecka
2021 Visionary Projects, ‘Mindfulness’, https://thevisionaryprojects.com/exhibit
2021 Original Magazine, ‘Hope’ - virtual exhibition, https://www.originalmagazine.uk/joanna-pilarczyk
2021 The Visionary Projects, ‘The Era of Change’- virtual exhibition, https://thevisionaryprojects.com/exhibit
2021 The Artist Lounge, ‘In the Wild’, Art Magazine Issue 01
2021 The Artist Lounge, ‘50 Shades of Red’, Art Magazine Issue 01
2020 Your journey with Singulart, ‘Women by Women’, Printed Magazine.
Artist's inspirations
My goal is to create paintings that are not only visually interesting through the use of a vibrant palette of colours, unique backgrounds, or expressive brushstrokes but to also show a true portrait of the person who I decided to paint. Since I can remember people have always been the most fascinating subject for my work. I present the portraits of those who are close to me as well as of others who I meet on a daily basis. Often there is a synchronicity of events - opportunities will present themselves when I might least be expecting them. I try to catch these extraordinary moments and people in my mind and capture their unique, individual expressions. My work attempts to introduce unique personalities in their natural environments and convey the emotions that these people are sharing with me. The paintings are a reflection of my inner dialogue with the person I am portraying. The use of bold and contrasting colours is especially important for me. I am drawn to artists such as Henri de Toulouse- Lautrec, Egon Schiele, Matisse, Lucian Freud, and Frida Kahlo. They all captured human fragility and strength whilst at the same time combining their fascination with psychology and the narrative of everyday life.