Biography
Maria Sochaniewicz studied in The Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, graduating with a Masters Degree of Fine Arts.
Maria Sochaniewicz began as a figurative painter. She spent her childhood in Gdansk, a beautiful port city on the Baltic Sea. That’s why her early work was concerned with sailors, ships and the sea she observed. Good examples are large oil paintings on canvas: “Three Sailors and a Girl”, “Navigator”, “Sailor and his Muse”, “Big Red Boat”, to name a few.
Maria was also inspired by music and literature, creating a cycle of four paintings based on Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” and a large oil painting named “Budionny”, inspired by Isaac Babel’s short story “The Letter” (which won 3rd prize at an international competition in 1974).
Another important stage of her work can be found in her “Modern Girl” series which eventually developed into the “Victory” series: “Victory in Green and Orange”, “Victory in Green” and “Victory I” (lithograph). The latter were a series of paintings of women without hands, symbolizing the casualties of wars and inspired by ancient sculptures such as Nike.
She also painted many portraits, including: “Portrait of My Mother”, ”Self-Portrait”, and many portraits of her cats: “My Cat”, “Red Cat”, “Angel with the Cat”, and “Girl with the Cat”. In ‘80s she painted a cycle of “Ballerinas” as well as a series: “Scenes from Whorehouses”, “Ballerinas”, “Dancer”, “Scenes from Whorehouses I, II, III”, and “Woman with Transistor Radio”.
In the late 1980’s she moved away from strictly figurative painting and started to incorporate other media into my work.
Her figurative paintings from1980's were an excellent examples of the early “Neue Wilde” movement that became popular in Western Europe at that time. She has also drawn inspiration from the ‘masters’, doing her own versions of “Breakfast on the Grass” by E. Manet; “Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte” by G. Seurat and so on.
She painted “Record in Blue” (glitter on vinyl record), “Bird” (oil on mirror circle), and “Annunciation” (in a “venetian” style mirror frame). Her painting during this period focused on less defined objects like snakes, fish and leaves, orchids, ornamental grasses, cats and angels, oceans and birds are some of the subjects that show up in her compositions.
The snakes and fish of the 1980’s became increasingly less literal culminating in purely abstract painting in the 1990’s.
During the 90’s she also created a number of paper sculptures named “Blue Pyramids”. Her last figurative paintings were completed in the early 90’s: “Woman with Cigarette” (self-portrait), “Curtain”, “Smokers”, “Portrait of My Sister”, “Lion’s Family”, “Yellow Rose”, “Big Cat”, “Ocean I”, “Ocean II” and “Ocean” III”.
By the early 1990’s, she became a purely abstract painter, although her figurative background still shows in her illustrations and drawings, like “On the Beach” Series. All of her work evinces a strong and individual use of color as well as a very personal style, a staple of both her figurative and abstract work.
She added elements of collage to her artworks, creating the following compositions: “Collage in Yellow & Gray-Blue”, (2005, oil, paper tissue on canvas), Collage in Orange I and Collage in Orange II, (2005, collage, oil on canvas, paper), “Composition in Gray with Crosswords I”, (2005, oil, crosswords on canvas), and “Blue-White with Paper Strips”, (2006, collage, oil on canvas, paper).
She also has completed a number of series: “Blue Stains” (2006), and “Red Stains” (2007), painted on canvas; “Stains Down” and “Circles” (2006-2007), painted on cardboard, her favorite material, and Series of "Strips" 2008-2010.
Newest series - “Dripping”, done with acrylic paint on canvas got “new touch” of dripping effect. Series is called “Dripping”, and it is acrylic on canvas.
Maria Sochaniewicz's work has been presented in several solo and group exhibitions: in the United States - New York, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, in Mexico - Mexico City, in Europe - Berlin, Hamburg, Prague, Budapest, and in Poland - Warsaw, Szczecin, Poznan, Radom.
Her works are in many private collections in Europe and in the USA.
Maria Sochaniewicz is an illustrator with extensive experience in magazines and newspapers drawing for literary works. Since the late 70’s she has contributed illustrations to many books, magazines and newspapers. She did illustrations for "11211" Magazine, published in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, for "Foyer" Theater Magazine, "Rzeczpospolita" Daily Newspaper, "Jazz" Magazine and "Film" Magazine in Warsaw, Poland.
Photography is another area of interest and a natural extension of the other forms of my art. It is marked by a spontaneity and acknowledgment of everyday, often mundane, objects. I try to use unusual angles in my photos that gives them a graphic and dynamic quality. Other pictures show the natural geometry of man made structures like iron bridges, overpasses etc., the play of light and dark, shadows and outlines.
Maria Sochaniewicz is a digital artist and a graphic designer. She did series of collages - often naming them “Virtual Graffiti” as it is a combination of my drawings and paintings with my photographs.
She has been a member of the SOHO20 Gallery for four years, where she had two solo exhibitions and she took part in gallery member's group exhibitions. Maria Sochaniewicz is also a member of the Union of Polish Artists, Poland (since 1975).
She has had over 20 solo exhibitions and has exhibited her work in several group shows in New York, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Mexico City, Berlin, Hamburg, Prague, Budapest and Warsaw.
Her works are represented in many private collections in Europe: England, Sweden, France, Germany, Belgium, Poland, and in the USA, Canada, Israel and Guatemala.
Maria Sochaniewicz came to the United States in 1988. She currently lives in Brooklyn, New York
