Przyjemska Mariola

Przyjemska Mariola

Mariola Przyjemska (born August 23, 1963, in Warsaw) is a Polish artist specializing in painting, photography, and creating installations and objects. She won the Maria Anto and Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven Artistic Award in 2021 and the Wojtek Falęcki Award in 2024.

She studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw (1983–1988), where she graduated in Professor Tadeusz Dominik's studio and did an annex under Professor Ryszard Winiarski. In 1992, she received a scholarship from Carlo Catellani in Modena, and in 1996, an Arts Links scholarship in New York.

Mariola Przyjemska was one of the key artists of the 1990s shaping the image of Polish art during the transformation period. Initially focused on painting, she transitioned to color photography in 1994. She began documenting clothing labels from her extensive collection and created "preparations," small plexiglass objects encapsulating original labels, much like insects preserved in amber.

Her works critically examine changes in consumption models and the social role of women. She also explores the transformation of the Warsaw landscape, where growing skyscrapers outside her studio window become symbols of luxury, portrayed as expensive cosmetics that she immortalizes as building-like gadgets. Together with Zbigniew Libera, she ran the legendary "Aurora" artistic club in Warsaw, one of the most important centers of artistic life in Poland in the early 21st century. Her works are held in collections of both Polish and international exhibition institutions.

Exhibitions

Selected Solo Exhibitions:

  • 2023: Trick at Mecone, Galeria Ewa Opałka / Fundacja Razem Pamoja, Warsaw
  • 2022: MARIOLA PRZYJEMSKA: Consumption, Construction, and Melancholy, Zachęta – National Gallery of Art, Warsaw
  • 2020: Avenue Of The Winners, Galeria Pola Magnetyczne, Warsaw
  • 2012: Osobní příběh ze země přehrad, Česká Skalice, Czech Republic
  • 2008: Mariola Przyjemska - Obrazy 07-08, Galeria Le Guern, Warsaw
  • 2006: Sektor 9, Galeria Le Guern, Warsaw
  • 2004: Mariola Przyjemska 2004, Galeria Podlaska, Biała Podlaska
  • 2001: Works from 1995-2001, Galeria Kronika, Bytom
  • 2001: Works from 1995-2001, D’Arcy Masius Beneton & Bowles, Warsaw
  • 1998: Plastlaminererade fotografier, Art Center Replica, Stockholm
  • 1996: Frontfix - Laminated Photographs & Specimens, Thomas Blackman Exhibition Space, Chicago
  • 1995: Works from 1994-1995, CSW Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw
  • 1994: Works, BWA Arsenał Gallery, Białystok
  • 1992: A kiedy wróci, Galeria Młodych, Warsaw
  • 1991: Id est, Galeria Gama, Warsaw
  • 1990: Alfa, Omega był, jest, przychodzi, Galeria Dziekanka, Warsaw
  • 1988: By miłość i wiara stały się również moim udziałem, Galeria Dziekanka, Warsaw