Iga Kosicka

The work of Polish art historian and illustrator, Iga Kosicka, is an explosion of curious colours, familiar objects, and everyday settings. “My background in art history is very apparent in my work, as I often refer to classic compositions and themes,” she says, nodding to her take on still lebens and flower motifs.

Iga captures moments from her day-to-day life either by taking a quick picture or by writing down a note of the situation, describing the feelings she is absorbed by at that point in time. “Sometimes it is a feeling or it might be randomly lying objects that give off a sense of comfort with the combination of their shapes and colours.” Later she takes these snapshots of reality and transfers them to the paper adding her personal take on the colour palette: “I usually stick to the cold, pastel palette, but I feel the need to add more intense spots of colour like red, ultramarine or orange to engage the viewer.”

Her artwork is a testimony to her eye for catching details and her habit of observing things and people around her. In her own words, it is a part of her romanticising everyday life.

Self-discovery

When asked if any particular artistic movement has inspired her work, she explains that she is much more interested in the individual artist and their lifelong development: “What I find inspiring is the never-ending creative search,” she says.

Paying great attention to the process and development, it may not surprise that Iga also dabbles with repainting her older illustrations — to see how her style has changed over the years and thereby explore her own artistic journey.

“However, I do find great comfort in ancient art, with its simplicity and purpose. It reminds me every time, how important art is in the history of humankind, and how unusual and beautiful the need to create art is for us humans.”