INTERVIEW: Paulina Tkacz

Paulina Tkacz is a brilliant polish illustrator based in Italy. Her works describe nature with personal style. What are your inspirations? How you were born artistically?

I have studied in Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Lodz (Poland) in the combined course of graphic design and applied graphics. Five years of composing black-and-white graphical images left a great impact on me. My illustrations are structured by the game of black and white and strong contrast. As you can see from my pictures, I create very detailed compositions and quite often they are of the very small size. I derive a great pleasure from working according to those two factors but I tend to choose small formats subconsciously. It is a matter of intuition. This tendency of mine stems from the very intense contact with artworks of the old masters of art (starting from medieval miniatures). In my high school I did a four-year-long course of Traditional Painting Technics and later I was working by an art restaurateur in northern Germany where we took care of the gothic cathedral with its wealth of paintings and sculptures storaged inside. All of those experiences remain for me very influential.

You are based in Italy so my question is simple: how long have you been living in Italy? How much well do you know italian language? 

I am an illustrator and designer and since almost four years I live and work in region of Marche in Italy. My moving here was a matter of personal choice. Eighteen years ago during my first travel to Italy I didn’t expect to have a chance to come back here. Surprisingly a bunch of coincidences brought me here once again. Now I am happy to discover Bel Paese not just like a tourist but like a citizen. Every day I learn something new about it’s complex reality and a beautiful culture. And now I am the one who takes care of the little part of the italian heritage by doing an effort to communicate the value and beauty of Ecomuseo Villa Ficana in Macerata to the tourists from Italy and from abroad. I do speak Italian fluently! So please, do not hesitate to come and have a chat with me during Mostra Mecato in Mercato delle Erbe.

Why did you decide to enjoy Ratatà festival?

I find Ratata an amazing event, which gives the opportunity of confrontation in various levels. I really appreciate the direct contact with the public because it helps me to understand more about my art and it is an infinite source of inspiration. Numerous creatives who present their works on the Festival makes me really curious. After previous Ratata editions I’ve remained deeply moved by the range of surprising themes and the high level of craft and skills.

Can you send a greeting for Macerata and Ratatà?

RATATA, DO ZOBACZENIA WKRÓTCE!

 

Michele Catinari