"Untitled 1/2026" from cycle "horses"

My name is Aleksandra Żmuda. I graduated from the Art High School in Krakow. I’m currently a fourth-year student at the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice, majoring in painting. My paintings and drawings are oriented toward animalistic themes. They primarily focus on the figure of the horse. The subject I’m drawing on is incredibly close to me, stemming from spending time with these animals as a child, observing and learning. I’m captivated by their form, expression, and demeanor. Their sincerity of behavior, something we humans lack. Their effortless strength and causal power embody what churns in our minds, refusing to escape due to stagnation and reluctance to act. I’m constantly seeking new solutions and expressions in this direction. I value the free flow of line in my creations. My own, free line, leading through the painting, embodying forms resulting from experience and observation. I’m also sensitive to the stain; it forms the construct of the painting and very often the basis for subsequent paintings. While I enjoy the final work of art, the process itself is incredibly exciting. It leads me down more or less familiar paths, often with surprising solutions that I discover along the way. In a project, I always start with a sketch that sets the goal. However, I have often strayed from the main work plan, which is created simultaneously with the sketch, in favor of something new in my development. Creative activity is what completely absorbs me. Awards: Scholarship of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage 2021/2022, Józef Kluza Scholarship 2021/2022, Exhibitions: Exhibition of the “Stacja Kultura” project at the Press Center of the Polish Press Agency, Warsaw, 2023, Curator of the “Stacja Kultura” exhibition at the Katowice train station, Katowice, 2023, 4th International Student Drawing Triennial, Rondo Sztuki, Katowice, 2023, Group exhibition “Interferencje” Silesian Philharmonic named after Henryk Mikołaj Górecki in Katowice, 2024, Individual exhibition at the headquarters of the Babia Góra National Park, Zawoja, 2025, Group exhibition at the gallery at the Castle in Sucha Beskidzka, Sucha Beskidzka, 2025, Group exhibition Jasiński&Friends, ToTuart gallery, Warsaw, 2025 Digital group exhibition on screens ”Forma Nova”, Golden Duck Gallery, SORS Gallery, CITYgalleryVIENNA and NYLO Apartments, Budapest, Vienna, New York, 2025

RESTART, Golden Duck Gallery, Budapest (Hungary), 2039

Oil on linen canvas / Olaj lenvásznon

100 x 120 cm

Poland