To reflect the main theme this month, the winter solstice, the bulk of artworks so far have been not only astronomically and spiritually orientated but also dark in tone and style themselves. Yet, as discussed within the opening article, where there is Yin there is also Yang. For the winter solstice may be a time of darkness, but it is also one of crisp sunny mornings and softly lit afternoons. As this day ends moreover, so too does the light begin to return - and what better way to represent this re-emergence than by observing the vibrant works of Luiza Holub within the closing pages of this month’s editorial?
Luiza blends the traditional still life aesthetic with blends of expressionism, minimalism, and bold colourations to provide her works with a modern feel. Indeed, it is as if Paul Cezanne decided to paint his apples in 2023. Though, what such a style conveys, which is perhaps why people and home furniture companies alike love them, is a sense of home. From plant pots and vases to kettles and fruit bowls, Luiza’s contemporary still life styled artworks portray everyday furnishings that possess the ability to transform houses into homes. Of course, all homes are different, which means that these items come in a vast array of shapes, sizes and colours. Yet the simplicity of Luiza’s linocuts provides these objects with an unpretentious and fashionable ‘one size fits all’ quality, allowing the pieces within them to morph their way into any modern home. In this regard, the colourful and minimalistic aspects of Luiza’s designs help to ignite the imagination, prompting viewers to imprint their own ideas on to the subject within their own minds. Her works, moreover, allow us to see our everyday items through a new playful lens, something which subsequently provides them with a surreal essence – as if they were appearing within one of our dreams.
Since our passions primarily develop during childhood, their origins are often blurred, as if they were a part of some hazy daydream. When I ask most artists about their origin stories for instance, the most common response is that they cannot remember a time before the existence of art in their lives. This means that many artists are not often certain as to what drove them to create or to express themselves in the first place. Though, motives aside, it is fascinating to uncover what those artists first remember depicting, which for Luiza, appears to be the same subjects she portrays in her works today.
‘It has always been art from as early as I can remember really’ she says. ‘I was always drawing and there are a few really great pencil sketches of still life objects and there is also one of my mum napping on a floral sofa. I think I was about 7 or 8 when I drew those, and I remember taking great care to observe what was in front of me. I have always had a strong ongoing desire to create and as I grew older, before I made a living out of it, art was just something I turned to as a hobby because it made me happy’. Much like Dawn however, soon enough art would also become a way to express Luiza’s emotions when it came to moving home – an expressionistic style imbued with ideas of home which arguably continues to define Luiza’s works to this day.
‘When I was eight years old, we moved from Poland to England. I think the move played a big part in my practice as a young adult and I processed a lot of it through my art’ Luiza tells me. ‘Working from old photographs, I made expressive oil paintings of family members that I no longer saw. I also remember creating a very large childlike canvas of the map of Poland with copied drawings from notebooks that I did as a kid… Eerie wire installations of the Polish forests with light and shadow and collaged animations dubbed in Polish. This theme of looking at my past home carried on for quite a while - maybe 5 years or so - and manifested itself in different mediums until 2010 when I graduated from Sheffield Hallam University with a master’s degree in Contemporary Fine Art’. Though, whilst art may have been a way for Luiza to convey and get to grips with the turbulent feelings that come with moving home as a child, it is fair to suggest that her desire to create also stems from that of her parents and the very experience of travel itself.
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