In this interview, we sit down with Kinga Flasza, who recently received recognition from Contemporary Lynx in this year’s edition of the New Image / New Look Competition. Kinga Flasza discusses the influences that have shaped her artistic journey, the unique atmosphere of her shared studio space in an old printing house that used to be owned by the Polish Academy of Sciences in Wrocław, and the meticulous process behind her evocative works. Kinga treats her art practice like a regular job, working primarily in natural light during the mornings and early afternoons, and keeping a clear distinction between weekdays and weekends. In the interview, Kinga delves into her first inspirations influenced by films, as she mentions her fascination with Jim Jarmusch, David Fincher, and Wes Anderson reflected in her early works.
Laura Klińska: What inspired you to start painting? Were there any particular books, films, or music pieces that influenced you?
Kinga Flasza: Painting wasn’t my first choice medium when I was young. In middle school, I drew a lot, and by high school, I transitioned to digital art. I spent a lot of time in front of a computer as a teen, and my drawings were mostly influenced by animations and movies. I drew a lot of anime fanart and copied shots from films. I particularly liked Jim Jarmusch, David Fincher, and Wes Anderson (the greatest hits of a snobby high school student). I didn’t take any of this seriously at that time, it was a fun little hobby I had. It was all about making pretty pictures and honing my skills, I didn’t have anything important to say with my art. When I was choosing my major I knew I wanted to go to art school, mostly because nothing else interested me that much. I chose a painting degree by chance. I started painting with acrylics three months before exams, and I picked oil painting in my first year’s second semester, only because it seemed like a logical next step. No other medium has captivated me that much and I have stuck to it ever since.
When it comes to my current art practice, I don’t really get inspired by other mediums. When I’m painting, I’m mostly inspired by other painters. Right now I’m interested in the work of Julia Świtaj, Julia Woronowicz, and Beedallo.
With that being said, I often get ideas for paintings while watching films at the cinema (never at home). It’s never directly tied to a film that I’m watching, I think it mostly stems from the fact that being secluded in a dark room, with only one source of stimuli helps me clear my mind and isolate myself from the real world. The best paintings form when the movie is mediocre.
LK: Could you describe your studio and share with us how you approach your work process on a daily basis?
KF: I work in a studio in an old printing house that used to be owned by the Polish Academy of Sciences. There are numerous other workshops in that building, occupied by Wrocław’s painters, sculptors, graphic designers, ceramists, and carpenters. I share my studio with other people, we work in different mediums, some of them not tied to art at all. While looking for a studio, it was important to me to share it with people who weren’t professionally tied to painting. I have a history of creating an environment that is a little too competitive with my painter friends when closed for too long in one room together. I try to approach my art practice like I would a regular job, with a clear distinction between weekdays and weekends. I work best in natural light, and I get most of the work done in the morning and early afternoon. Artificial light is reserved for the most dreaded times, and I truly despise it. I work only on one painting at a time, taking about a month to finish it, regardless of size.
LK: Your recent solo exhibition, titled “I see best when I close my eyes”, took place at Mia Art Gallery in Wrocław, (Jan- Feb 2024). The exhibition presented your work, which uniquely blends spontaneous, dream-like associations with real-world imagery, including internet visuals, Instagram content, and film scenes, all infused with humour, fascination, and underlying anxieties. Can you elaborate on how this semi-dream state influences your artistic vision? Can you talk about your creative process and how these ideas come to life in your art?
KF: Most of my creative process happens before the actual painting, I like to have a clear vision of the composition before I start doing anything on canvas. It starts with taking notes in an app on my phone, usually, it’s a few random phrases, emotions, and descriptions of things I just saw and found interesting. Then, I make digital collages out of pictures I take specifically for each piece, to work out the composition, colours, and relationships between subjects. It’s essentially a sketch for the painting. Sometimes I skip the notes part, there are times when a finished composition comes to my mind without any prior preparations, mostly during a time when I let my mind wander freely. This often happens right before sleep, or upon waking, in that state of twilight consciousness.
I enjoy the idea of a “clean slate,” allowing the meaning to emerge organically during the creative process. Sometimes it comes to me a long time after I finish it, and sometimes it never does.
“I don’t necessarily use the word surreal when I’m describing my art, I feel like nowadays it’s overused by artists”
LK: Your paintings often incorporate surreal elements, blending fantastical imagery with real-world references in a unique and compelling way. How do you balance the surreal and the real in your artworks?
KF: I don’t necessarily use the word surreal when I’m describing my art, I feel like nowadays it’s overused by artists that make weird art just for the sake of it being weird. I don’t draw a line between real and unreal elements in my compositions, so balancing them isn’t a conscious concern for me. I just do what feels right at the moment.
LK: Can you discuss how you’ve experimented with different techniques, such as oil painting and embroidery, and how these mediums help you express the themes in your works?
KF: I’m not really an experimenting person when it comes to painting, I stick to my favourite techniques and let them develop naturally over time. When it comes to textile art, I was always interested in it, but it remained a secondary pursuit alongside painting. Switching to patchwork and embroidery was easy because when composing an image I often juxtapose seemingly incongruous elements from reality—patchwork shares this essence of combining diverse pieces, only in a more tactile way.
LK: What draws you to include animals in your pieces, and how do you decide on their unique characteristics? How do you decide on the imagery you use, and what role does symbolism play in your work?
KF: At first, animal imagery wasn’t a deliberate choice. It came naturally to me; they were just another subject matter. After recognizing them as a recurring theme, I realized that it’s easier for me to express my ideas through them. I never wanted to make autoportraits, but naturally, my work is an extension of me. When I include a real person in a composition, not anonymous or fictional, the focus shifts. People weren’t treating it just as a carrier for the idea, it became less about the concept and more about the individual, with all their real-life characteristics. This wasn’t what I wanted to achieve with my work, my paintings aren’t an allegory for real stories.
The traditional symbolism does not play a big role in my paintings, I try to make my own visual language. It’s all intuitive.
LK: Your earlier works, such as the series “You Must Wear a Face,” explored the connection between image and identity, highlighting society’s tendency to categorize and label everything within specific frameworks. You focused on how emphasizing external appearance can distort self-perception, and how each individual experiences this differently. How did this exploration influence the evolution of your current artistic themes?
KF: It was the first time I tackled a larger painting series, during the third year of my studies. Previously, when I explored a theme, I’d create just two or three paintings, and that was it. I remember being afraid of making so many paintings so similar to each other, that I thought it would be deemed boring and unnecessary by others. Luckily I had a painting professor who encouraged me to do that, and to work however it felt right for me. That was something that stuck with me, I credit him with much of my current confidence in my work. While it wasn’t necessarily a very original idea, and that subject was covered and explored by many other artists, it helped me to understand how to utilize my experiences in my work. It also allowed me to explore oils as a medium and improve my technical skills.
