Kasia Turajczyk
Lyalls Cottage, Dunchideock, Exeter, EX6 7YD

http://gallery.kasiaturajczyk.com

Phone: 01392 833904

Established Dunchideock artist, Kasia Turajczyk will be inviting guests into her studio/local gallery to view her new work this year in the forthcoming county-wide arts event, Devon Open Studios.

It is the largest showcase for artists in the county and Kasia Turajczyk will be joining over 260 artists opening their doors for 16 days from 4th –19th of September. Kasia will be taking part for the first time and is looking forward to her contribution to the event held at her studio in the garden of Lyalls Cottage and her gallery within the cottage.

Kasia began painting as a child, and for her becoming a successful artist is the realization of a life-long passion. She has lived in several countries with different political systems; diverse cultures, different languages, peoples, and landscapes and that fact has had a big influence on her development and growth as an artist and as a person.

Kasia works in diverse fields of art: paintings, installations, collages, fantasy art and new media. When you visit her studio you will be able to see examples of such work, together with recent abstract and modern figurative collages with a hint of surrealism, inspired by the nature of Devon. Nature is also a source of raw materials for Kasia's art, which enables her to achieve some very interesting structural effects.

She will also be showing some new installations entitled Personalities, created from old CD’s, acrylics and recycled materials (weather permitting in the open air of the garden). Kasia will also be inviting her visitors to take part in the process of producing an installation. She will be providing such an environment during the Open Studio weeks to make it possible for visitors to work together with her, and to have the opportunity to talk to her directly about the creative process.

Kasia Turajczyk is looking forward to the show and hopes that Devon Open Studios will help raise her profile. In 2009 over 30,000 visits were recorded, an almost two fold increase from the year before. Free to the public, the event provides a unique chance to see a wide variety of new work.

Devon Open Studios produces a comprehensive guide to help visitors plan their own art trail and combine browsing art with enjoyment of the county’s fantastic scenery. Free copies of the guide are now available at tourist information centres, libraries, galleries, and hotels. The most prominent place in Dunchideock where the guide will be available is the well known Lord Haldon Hotel (10 minutes walk from Kasia Turajczyk’s studio -http://www.lordhaldonhotel.co.uk).

The Blueberrry Fantasy - acrylics on canvas

"If growing up means it would be beneath my dignity to climb a tree, I'll never grow up, never grow up, never grow up! Not me!"
— J.M. Barrie (Peter Pan)

The painting “For Lesiu Orzesiu” is atypical for me at this moment. I used to paint in this way when I was 14 -16 years old. It was in the era when I first discovered oil paints and canvasses. My first oil painting, which I still have, presents Pinocchio, a toy made in Russia. I got it from Christopher, when I was 15 years old. I still have my Russian Pinocchio, unfortunately, he is missing his nose. The nose became detached somewhere, somehow, at some point during our joint trips. Pinocchio is made from plastic (such a very hard plastic) and is wearing knit wear made by me. I took him everywhere with me; we travelled together through almost the whole of Europe and some other parts of the world.

As a child I loved the story about Pinocchio and Geppetto. This wooden puppet gave me courage and hope that there was always a chance for salvation and rebirth. Although I was the opposite of Pinocchio, and told the truth. However, telling the truth got me constantly in trouble, too. I remember being surprised hearing my Mum telling lies and not growing donkey ears, I really expected her ears to grow. I am still waiting for this magical moment. When I finally realized that telling the truth is not practical, it was already too late for me. Not telling the truth turned out to be even greater torture than telling the truth. At some point of my life I started to create made-up stories, and this fact began to cause me much satisfaction, especially observing people listening to my far-fetched absurdities. My excuses for doing that were very simple. It was not lying or cheating with premeditation, it was just my imagination that needed to take flight.

Returning to the painting “For Lesiu Orzesiu” the creatures in it are real and the colours too. Lesiu asked me to make his beloved creatures immortal. I guess the painting will travel to India with him, soon. And so the word became flesh (the painting!) It is a medium sized painting on canvas 70cm x 50cm. I used the best Rembrandt’s acrylic paints (I think they are one of the best) with a minimum admixture of oil.
I hope that Peter Pan will always be alive in Lesiu and that Lesiu never lets him fade into oblivion. Amen!

I am happy to work with old CD's, I think we should try to use more and more rubbish to help our planet. A kind of recycling I guess.

The Personalities - installation, project, concept

The painting “when the demons are awakened” from the series My Brain tortured me so intensively that I had to change it. For comparison purposes I am publishing both the old and the new versions. In the new version I worked with more tricky colours and I added more crazy materials. It is more frantic and wilder. I think that the words “frantic” and maybe even "furious” could describe this new painting. What else should you expect when the demons are awakened?

My Brain when the demons are awakened - new

My brain when the demons are awakened - old