Polski
Dagmara Rybak, a talented artist whose work focuses on portraits of women, talks about what it means to be a GentleWoman in today’s world. In the conversation, we discover how feminine strength, subtlety and emotion permeate her work, and what qualities a GentleWoman should have in order to be immortalized on her canvases.
Your painting is a fascinating journey into the world of femininity. What motifs dominate your works?
My paintings are, indeed, mainly portraits of women. Their heroine is uncommon, exceptionally sensitive. She is a true GentleWoman. In my work I delve into portraying the complex female identity, I show sensuality, sensuality, strength and beauty.
Your paintings are full of symbols – in addition to women, we can find flowers or animals on them, which transport us to the world of ancient beliefs.
Yes, motifs with deep symbolism appear on them.
For example, in the painting “Queen of Poppies” the background is a poppy field – these flowers have duality in them.
They symbolize sleep and death, but also passionate love.
I love nature, so elements taken from it play an important role here.
Sometimes I go back to Slavic roots, sometimes to a rural idyll.
I want to show the beautiful Polish countryside, places with which I am connected.
Meadow, forest, what is associated with vitality, freshness, good energy.
Where do you get your inspiration from?
The main source for me is my own experience – related to people, relationships, but also places where I have lived and been. I draw handfuls from nature, music and, above all, from my own emotions. The paintings show the beauty of the world filtered through my perspective, but also its ugliness – simply life.
How do you define femininity in the context of your works?
My main goal is to show female beauty in different ways, because a sensitive woman – GentleWoman – has more than one face, more than one image. Sensitivity and love awaken beauty in us, drive us to action – I would like to show these emotions in my painting. The women in my paintings are full of charm, they tempt with mystery, they have a magic that attracts the viewer, they are full of grace. At the same time, they are strong and self-conscious women.
How do your works reflect the emotions and experiences of women?
I define emotions in my paintings through symbols, as I mentioned earlier, and colors. The colors reflect not only the mood of the heroines of the canvases, but also my own. In sadder times I choose darker tones. If I’m happy – I automatically draw from a lighter, more subdued palette. I also capture emotions in details, in looks and facial grimaces.
What techniques do you mostly use in your artwork?
My paintings are acrylic on canvas. However, I also use additional materials, such as glitter, iridescent crystals, schagmetal, schagaluminum or structural pastes. I like experimentation and spatiality in paintings. I once added ground coffee to paint, and there are times when I glue three-dimensional elements to a painting. My work is very sensory – some works are scented, because I spray them with my favorite perfume with a sweet fragrance note, which includes vanilla, musk, almond, jasmine, moss and yakaranda wood.
Sounds like the quintessence of sensuality! According to you, is GentleWoman also a sensual woman? What else characterizes her?
She is certainly a sensual and emotional woman. Just as an artist who creates art is sensitive to her surroundings and the emotions of the characters she portrays, GentleWoman is open to other people and their emotions. She is empathetic, but also, as befits an artistic soul, creative.
If you were to paint a GentleWoman, what characteristics and emotions would you want to capture in a portrait?
Here again, sensitivity comes to the fore. GentleWoman’s eyes reflect goodness, but also strength, a sense of agency and courage. After all, deep emotionality and the power of empathy do not have to translate into weakness. These are not weaknesses, but, on the contrary, great power.
Let’s go back to material things for a moment – the artwork as an empty frame that needs to be filled from A to Z. What does the creative process look like in your case, from the idea to the final work?
I do not know if we can escape from the spiritual sphere… Because in my art the most important thing is intuition. It often happens that I stand in front of an empty easel and the brush carries me alone. This is most often the case. But it also happens that… I get stung by a bee, as recently happened at the lake, and this situation becomes the beginning of a new idea. For the sting ended up painting a bee precisely. Well, ideas sometimes come to me on their own. Events are an important impulse that unlocks the creative drawers in my head.
What is your approach to displaying art in public spaces, such as restaurants or clinics?
I am open to any form of exhibition of works. And more than once they have adorned the walls of clinics, hairdressing shops or even the facades of houses. The more non-standard – the better. I think that my works look great in outdoor spaces. I once even displayed them on a boat I was traveling on. They hung on the stern, bow and sides. It aroused a lot of emotions, and I met with a really positive reception. Since nature plays an important role in my painting, I like it to be the background. I happened to hang paintings on fences or house walls.
Are your works received differently in such places compared to traditional galleries?
Definitely yes. An uncommon environment creates a looser and uncommon atmosphere. You can get a better sense of the artist’s intentions and the nature of his works. And mine draw heavily from what is around us. Therefore, my biggest dream is to go out into the world with my painting.
Would you like to go on a great artistic journey?
That’s right. The dream is to organize a nomadic gallery. I would like to both create and exhibit works in different places. Invent them and pour them onto canvas on the road. I imagine that I could have an artbus with which I would tour the most beautiful roads – it would be at the same time a car, a home, a studio and a gallery.
This is a great idea! And if stationary, then…?
I have dreams related not only to travel, but also to owning a large wooden barn. I would hold creative workshops in it, share ideas and sensibilities with others, but at the same time it would be a unique space where I could set up my own gallery.
Editorial recommends: To be beautiful like a carioca?
