Biografy of Alina Witwitzka
"The colourful paintings of sometimes happily dancing, sometimes melancholically entwined lovers,
are based in the traditional dichotomies of male/female, spiritual/physical and makes one think
of both Marc Chagall's ethereal compositions and of Henri Matisse’s plump bodies."
Sinziana Ravini, GP 2007
Alina words about her paintings:
"I have been working as a professional artist since 1985. When I am in the process of creativity
only the present moment exists and as soon as I paint I forget that I do this for a living. All
I experience is unity.
Wise men say that creativity is a way of reaching the deepest core of human beings. For me, the
encounter with the canvas is a journey into the unknown with the result of a concrete image of
colour, composition and structure. I consider myself fortunate to have this as my daily experience
and practice. I often find myself being surprised and marvelling about the results of this journey,
fascinated by the characters that appeared on the canvas and are now looking back at me. They have
a message for me and they embrace me in their warmth. This gives me support."
My way of creating work is intuitive, when I stand in front of the canvas I “see” the image there
and the only thing I do is bring it into light, life and two-dimensional reality. Thanks to studying
Vedic Art in 2010 I discovered the playfulness in the world of textures. By adding a thin layer of
texture-paint with a palette knife, I am able to reach a new dimension in my work that allows for a
richer expression. It is an arduous journey but also more pleasurable and it requires patience, silence
and concentration. I am immensely grateful for the happiness and fulfilment I experience when I paint,
and perhaps this is why my work is expressing so much joy, colour and intensity.
Alina’s experience of different work that evokes unity.
With an MA in the Polish Language from the University of Schlesia in Poland, she brought her interest
for languages to Konstfackskolan in Stockholm, Sweden and combined it with creativity and the fine art
of painting.
Alina’s background as a journalist in Poland was combined with the interest of personal development and
personal growth. Amongst other methods and practices she has studied Psychosynthesis, Cranio Sacral work
with the Tranbergs brothers, healing with Matthew Manning, Light Body work with Helena Montelius, courses
with the Sandy Levy, Psychodrama and Zen meditation with Roshi Philippe Kapleau in the US. Her commitment
to the Zen meditation path led her to found the Zen Centre in Stockholm in 1981. Alina is a certified
Silva Mind Control practitioner and Vedic Art Teacher. She is currently studying the Rosicrucian philosophy.
Since 1994 Alina is working therapeutically with people a history of burn out, incest and depression.
In 2003 Alina set up CREARE - Living creativity Centre, a forum for combining personal development with
creativity. CREARE is a meeting place for those interested in discovering and developing their creative
capacity and doing this on their terms. CREARE offers courses in painting with the method of Vedic Art,
intuitive painting, painting with acrylics, water based oil paint, tempera etc for both adults and children.
CREARE also functions as an exhibition space (including rental of gallery space for guest artists) and
offers an option for events for private groups and businesses. The venue also provides a meeting space
for groups that meet with a purposes of healing and for more general talks, studio space etc.
Her world of symbols is created by Alina Witwitzka's use of relationships,
attitudes and insinuations. Male and female are occupied with their
longing for one another. Do they meet? Simultaneously, patterns
both simple and sophisticated make their appearance on the canvas.
The colours shimmer. In these pictures we find life, warmth and
light. Gaze at them, and let yourself fill with hope.
Maria Nyman,
Centre for Cultural Studies,
Göteborg University
"Alina Witwitzka regards the unblemished underlay of her paintings
with total absorption. She fixes on the surface and in it sees suggestions
of forms. Then her hard pencil follows the lines of those forms,
and with attractive boldness she applies her carbon."
Peter Lindkvist, Göteborgs-Posten, 1999
"The colourful work of this Polish-born artist, who now lives in
Göteborg, spreads joy, harmony and sensualism ... She paints in acrylics
on canvas and paper, using a renaissance technique that is based on
glazed layers laid on top of one another. Over the past three years
Alina Witwitzka has worked with male and female, man and woman as
her motif. In the last of paintings exhibited here they marry. She
hopes to follow them still further along their path."
Lars-Ola Carlén,
Skaraborgs Läns Allehanda, 2000
"... On the one hand we see the intimacy we associate with Dardel.
On the other we see the more stylized type of drawing that was often
to be found on the sheet music of countless waltzes about seamen,
such as those of Evert Taube. Not infrequently the style is astonishingly
bold ... Alina Witwitzka's pictures, at first glance so similar,
on closer inspection reveal intricate changes of mood and a kind
of pictorial cryptography in which shades of colour, bearing, hands,
eyes become as readable as though they were a language. An angular
blue (male) bird often plays a special role here as a symbol of
freedom. Sometimes a cat does too, while a dog is more likely to
symbolize dependence. The eyes, reflectors of the soul, often force
their way outside the contours of the head, while the hands reveal
fear or submissiveness."
Rolf Haglund, Borås Tidning, 2001
"Here we see interplay, flirtatiousness, harmony. Following her
exhibitions in France, Alina Witwitzka has developed a sense of sensual
intensity. The strong colours she uses remind us of Picasso, Chagall,
Toulouse-Lautrec and Gauguin."
Louise Clausen, Skövde Nyheter, 2000
Education and training:
1969-1974 University of Katowice, M.A. in Polish Language and Literature
1979 Academy of Fine Arts, Stockholm
1980 Idun Lovén Art School, Stockholm
1981-1985 School of Arts, Crafts and Design, Stockholm
Individual exhibitions:
1985 Stockholm, Royal Dramatic Theatre, theatre posters
1990 Stockholm, Djurgården Church, oils on canvas
1994 Stockholm, Kilen, oils on canvas
1997 Stockholm, Galleri Tersaeus, tempera, acrylics
1998 Paris, Galerie Perspectives, tempera, acrylics
1999 Göteborg, A Gallery AB, acrylics
2000 Tibro, Galleri S, acrylics
2001 Borås, Municipal Art Gallery, acrylics
2002 Göteborg, A Gallery AB, acrylics
2003 Marstrand, Galleri Mareld
2003 Stockholm, Galleri Terseaus
2004 Motala, Konstgalleri Vättern
2004 Marstrand, Galleri da Mattéo
2005 Göteborg creare, - 20 years jubilee
2005 Skärhamn, Galleri Volund
2006 Skärhamn, Galleri Volund
2007 Smögenbryggan, Galleri Smögenön
2007 Partille Slott/Partille Konstförening
2008 Smögenbryggan, Galleri Smögenön
2009 Stockholm, Galleri Tersaeus
2009 Båstad, Galleri Creare
2010 Fjällbacka, Galleri Creare, branch
2010 Göteborg, Galleri CREARE
(Planned exhibitions:)
2011 Halmstad, Albany International
2011 Göteborg - Härlanda, the cultural centre "Kåken" May-August
2011 Fjällbacka, Galleri Creare, branch - summer exhibition
Group exhibitions:
1982 Paris, Galerie Poisson d'Or, graphics
1983 Barcelona, Taller Galeria Fort, graphics
1984 Bologna, Children's Book Fair, book illustrations
1991 Stockholm, Polish Institute, oils on canvas
1992 Stockholm, Fine Arts Society, oils on canvas,
tempera, acrylics
1993 Stockholm, Fine Arts Society, enamels on metal,
oils on canvas
1998 Göteborg, Municipal Art Gallery, tempera
1999 Marstrand, acrylics
2000 Marstrand, Town Hall, acrylics
2001 Tibro, Galleri S, acrylics
2001 Göteborg, Gallery Ohdenkrantz & Koonce, acrylics
2001 Borås, Municipal Art Gallery, acrylics
2001 Drammen, Gallery Oddvar Olsen, acrylics
2002 Strömstad, Gallery Diana
2004 Motala, Art gallery Vättern
2002-05 Norway, Drammen, Gallery Oddvar Olsen, acrylics
2005 Gallery da Mattéo, Marstrand
Alina’s way of creative expression is mainly through symbols in paintings on
paper, canvas, glass, porcelain and silk. She also uses drawings (ink / washes),
sculpture in metal sheeting, photography, film (documentary), prose (eg, stories) and poetry.
Alina was born in Krakow, Poland, but has lived in Sweden since 1976 - over 20
years in Stockholm and now in Gothenburg. Alina is the mother of two daughters.
