Berenika Kołomycka
- born 1983
- born in Warsaw
- she lives and creates her works in Warsaw
- she specializes in comics and illustration
“Trust yourself!”
She studied at the Faculty of Sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. In 2010, she graduated from prof. Andrzej Myjak’s Study of Sculpture with an annex from drawing, supervised by prof. Zofia Glazer. Apart from the individual comics exhibition in the Central Museum of Textiles in Łódź, she has taken part in group exhibitions, including in London, Brussels, Strasbourg and Stockholm. She is the author of illustrations published in anthologies, press, and students books.
The most important publications: “Wykolejeniec” (art), story by G. Janusz, Taurus Media, 2010; “Tej nocy dzika paprotka” (art), story by M. Sowa, Centrala, 2013; “Malutki Lisek i Wielki Dzik”, Vol. 1: “Tam”, Vol. 2: “Najdalej”, Vol. 3: “Świt”, Vol. 4: “Tamtędy”, Egmont, 2015-2018; “Dwa małe wilczki”, Timof Comics, 2018.
The most important awards and distinctions: Grand Prix of the International Festival for Comics and Games in Łódź (“Pies, który chciał być człowiekiem”, story by M. Narożniak), 2011; recognition (a rhymed comic “Morderstwo”), Europejski Port Literacki, Wrocław, 2013; distinction in the “Powstanie ’44 w komiksie” competition, Warsaw Uprising Museum, 2014; the 2nd place ex aequo (“Malutki Lisek i Wielki Dzik”), Jury Award in the Janusz Christa Competition for Comics for Children, Sopot, 2015; the best comics for children: “Malutki Lisek i Wielki Dzik”: Vol. 3 “Świt”, Award of the Polish Comics Association, Warsaw, 2018.
Berenika Kołomycka’s favourite techniques include watercolour, acrylic paint, and ink on paper. Her comics for children include little text and large, often whole-page, atmospheric illustrations. Owing to the use of subtle colours, such as subdued brown, greys, greens, blues, and oranges, the images are not aggressive; they emanate with warmth and sensitivity and perfectly fit the delicately told stories, sometimes with difficult topics, such as the passage of time. The artist’s illustrations are very painterly, with soft interpenetration of colours, characteristic of watercolour, and barely sketched contours. The absence of contours, several brush strokes and colours going beyond contours seem to be somehow hurried, unfinished and, as a result, resemble drawings created by children, readers of the comics.
To a certain extent, the illustrations resemble images of animals by Józef Wilkoń, but they differ in expressive facial expressions given by the artist to her characters. This expression together with the lightness of the whole image brings works by Janusz Grabiński to mind.
Kołomycka feels equally good in dreamlike and surrealistic comics. The palette limited to four colours (black, white, blue, yellow) is accompanied with expressive and disciplined strokes typical for European graphic novels for adults. The play with panels, many close ups, or multiplication of almost identical panels with strange characters raise anxiety and confusion in readers.
Berenika Kołomycka Gallery
More information about the artist: berenikakolomycka.pl
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