Joanna Woyda (b. 1981) captures fleeting moments in her paintings, utilising the achievements of contemporary photography in her art. By stripping her works of unnecessary elements and reducing the background to abstraction, she encourages viewers to focus on the depicted figures and reflect on their essence.

From the very first encounter with Joanna Woyda’s paintings, one is immersed in vast expanses of blue, against which various scenes unfold, evoking an indescribable sense of calm. In her series titled “Beach”, created since 2008 and comprising over 80 canvases, the artist documents human behaviours, customs, and gestures observed on the beach with near-photographic precision. Woyda examines individual situations, portraying solitary walkers, playing children, or running dogs; she freezes them in motion and places them against an endless expanse of blue. Despite the lack of concrete spatial details or significant elements, it is immediately clear that the setting is a beach. This space draws our attention, evoking a blissful sense of tranquillity, peace, and relaxation—everything we long for in today’s fast-paced world.

The artist herself describes the “Beach” series as follows:
“It is an attempt to capture a moment from a place that is special to me—both peaceful and dynamic, allowing one to be alone with oneself and simultaneously thrust into a crowd of other beachgoers. A place where I become an observer of human behaviours, customs, and gestures while remaining one of those being observed myself. (…) It is a peculiar place where we seem so small compared to the vastness of water, sky, and sand. A place where nature overwhelms us yet provides solace. The beach gives me peace and prevents haste, much like painting does.”

Joanna Woyda (b. 1981)
In 2005, she graduated with honours from the Faculty of Painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw under Prof. Wiesław Szamborski’s studio, with an additional specialisation in printmaking under Prof. Rafał Strent. She has been a recipient of scholarships from the Ministry of Culture and Bank BPH. She won the Ewa Tomaszewska Award (a member of the Praesidium KK NSZZ “Solidarity”) and received the Grand Prix in the Franciszka Eibisch Foundation competition in 2014.

Her work has been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions both in Poland (Warsaw, Łódź, Olkusz) and internationally (Brussels, Los Angeles).

“In Joanna Woyda’s paintings, large, flat, bright planes of color become the beach, water, and expansive sky. A person, several people, sometimes a cuddling couple, and most often standing or playing children appear on them; these children seem to be a theme closest to the artist’s heart. The depicted figures are in motion, frozen in place, freely integrated into the edges of the canvases, yet firmly enough to reinforce the effect of the vast space. It is likely that in painting these scenes, thousands of photographic notes were used, not to document spectacular frames, but in admiration of the uniqueness of beach freedom, when one finally manages to break away from monotonous daily routine. These photographs are transformed into a painterly language and serve to emphasize the vacation scenes, beach scenes, as the essence of this bliss, whose essence is transience. The spaciousness of color, its luminosity harmoniously combined with discreet narration, builds a sense of tranquility and mood that can enchant, even purify. This is an innocent world, far from the noise of everyday life, from its dirt, a clean world. There is discretion, non-intrusiveness, vitality, warmth, and above all, a certain important peace and acceptance of order, far from excess, acceptance of oneself. This reconciliation with oneself can be said to be the essential source of those paintings, Joanna Woyda’s paintings.”

Professor Stanisław Baj

“This is an attempt to capture a moment from a place that is special to me—both peaceful and dynamic, allowing one to be alone with oneself and simultaneously thrust into a crowd of other beachgoers. A place where I become an observer of human behaviors, customs, and gestures while remaining one of those being observed myself. (…) It is a peculiar place where we seem so small compared to the vastness of water, sky, and sand. A place where nature overwhelms us yet provides solace. The beach gives me peace and prevents haste, much like painting does.”

Joanna Woyda

Joanna Woyda’s works can be purchased at the Katarzyna Napiórkowska Art Galleries in Warsaw and Brussels, as well as at the online gallery www.tylkosztuka.pl.