Ewa Juszkiewicz

Ewa was born in 1984 in Gdansk, Poland where she also completed her MA in fine arts at the Academy of Fine Arts followed by a PhD at the renowned and prestigious Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow.

Already a prolific and still young artist, she works predominantly with oil on large-scale canvas. Her oeuvre is surrealist with a prevalent theme of ethereal female portraits with their heads covered with layers of fabric, locks of hair, or organic objects such as vegetable or plants. Viewing her works, you can’t help but feel a strong connection with the Old Masters narrative. The female form, choice of palette and often the choice of the subjects’ attire invokes attributes of Old Masters and the eighteenth and nineteenth century portraiture. The surrealist elements appear to suggest inspiration, or at least carry the vision of the likes of Arcimboldo. Whilst Ewa’s mannerism can feel deeply rooted in the Old Masters era, her technique feels contemporary, there are no heavy oil impastos or glazes but rather, velvety smooth layers of hues and shades that evidence absolutely masterful control over her medium. If we recall the masterfully applied mat soft and velvety layers on Lempicka’s paintings, Ewa’s certainly feel seductively smooth and technically proficient.

By displacing female heads with layers of fabric, strands of grasses, leaves or other plants, Juszkiewicz challenges the conventional perception of what a woman should look like.  The artist influences perception of female beauty and ‘disrupts the familiar order’ .  The message echoing from her large-scale canvases is clear: ‘female image should be clear from any imposed canons of beauty ’. It certainly makes for a strongly evocative and quirky juxtaposition to depict female bodies in the most ‘traditional’, subtle and elegant attire yet mask their faces with inanimate objects.

The idiosyncratic imagery of Ewa’s paintings can at times feel disturbing (insects or fungi masking the head of the female form), but also majestically meditative and appealing through the pulchritude of her flawless and exquisite technique. Ewa’s artistic aesthetic and choice of stylistic forms serve very well to communicate the emotion and meaning of her female beauty manifesto.

Ewa is one to watch and her work should be seriously considered as an investment given the sale results her body of work has earned so far in the secondary market. According to Artprice.com, most of the artist’s auction sale achieved mid-market hammer prices, well above the original estimates . The pedigree of her gallery representation (Gagosian and Almine Rech) also speaks volumes. Having exhibited widely around the world both in group and solo events, Juszkiewicz is well positioned on the contemporary art market radar. She certainly deserves a lot of attention given her young age and immense achievements to date and a prolific portfolio. Taking into consideration the current and ongoing popularity of female art and the ideological exploration of gender specific canons and conventions, she is definitely one to keep closely on the radar for any investor looking to diversify their portfolio by including a young contemporary female artist.