MARIA SOCHANIEWICZ
Education
M.F.A.
Academy of Fine Arts, Warsaw, Poland
Biography
Maria Sochaniewicz was born in 1950 in Gdansk, Poland. She spent her childhood in Gdansk, a beautiful port city on the Baltic Sea. That’s why her work of that time was concerned with sailors, ships and the sea she observed. These same themes are seen in her mature works, for example, the large oil paintings on canvas “Three Sailors and a Girl” (1974, oil on canvas), “Navigator” (1974, collage, oil on canvas), “Sailor and his Muse” (1978, oil on canvas), “Big Red Boat” (1975, oil on canvas), to name a few.
In 1970 she entered The Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, graduating in 1975 with a Masters Degree of Fine Arts. At the Academy she studied painting, drawing, sculpture, composition, graphic design, typography, mural techniques, lithography, the history of art, and the French and Russian languages. In her years at the Academy, she studied under such distinguished professors such as: Aleksander Kobzdej, Jan Tarasin, Antoni Lyzwanski, Wieslaw Kruczkowski (painting), Helena Rudzka-Cybisowa, Stanislaw Zoltowski (painting & drawing), Jan Zemla (sculpture), Jacek Sienicki (architectural design & wall painting), Jan Owidzki (composition). 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 inspired by Isaac Babel’s short story “The Letter” named “Budionny” (which won 3rd prize at an international competition in 1974). She has also drawn inspiration from the ‘masters’, doing her own versions of “Breakfast on the Grass” by E. Manet; “Sunday On…” by G. Seurat and so forth.
Another important stage of her work can be found in her “Modern Girl” series which eventually developed into the “Victory” series which contained the paintings: “Victory in Green an Orange”, “Victory in Green”, “Victory I” (lithography). The latter were a series of paintings of women without hands, as a symbol of casualties of wars, inspired by ancient sculptures 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”, Girl with the Cat”. In ‘80s she also painted a series of “Ballerinas” as well as a series of “Scenes from Whorehouses” such as: “Ballerinas”, “Dancer”, “Scenes from Whorehouses I, II, III”, “Woman with Transistor Radio”.
Her figurative paintings from 1975 through 1980 were excellent examples of the early “Neue Wilde” movement that become popular new style in Western Europe. In the late 1980’s she moved away from figurative painting and started to use mixed media work utilizing brocade, color powders, varnishes, and other less traditional materials. 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, Leaves, Orchid and Ornamental Grasses. Cats, Angels, Oceans and Birds are some of the other 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 “Pyramids in Blue” and “Pyramids”.
At the beginning of her “abstract” period Ms.Sochaniewicz continued her figurative work as well. 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”.Her abstract works are painted in oil, acrylic on canvas, on cardboard paper and on compact disks. She uses different shapes of canvases like triangle and oval, and utilizes mixed media techniques, per example oil on the vinyl record titled “Yellow Record”.
All of Ms. Sochaniewicz’s work evinces a strong and individual use of color as well as a very personal style that is evident in all of her work - figurative as well as abstract. By the early 1990’s, she had become a purely abstract painter - though her figurative background is still evident in her drawings as a series of sketches “On the Beach”.
At the present time, Maria is working on two series: "Strips" – work on paper – and “Dripping” - acrylic on canvas. The latest series of paintings are named "Supernovas".
Maria Sochaniewicz was a member of the SOHO20 Gallery for four years, where she had two solo exhibitions and took part in gallery member's group exhibitions. She is also a member of the Union of Polish Artists, Poland (since 1975).
She has exhibited her work in several solo and group exhibitions in the USA, Germany, Poland - in New York, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Mexico City, Berlin, Hamburg, Prague, Budapest, Szczecin, Radom, Lodz 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 currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Awards
1996
First Prize, Graphic Competition, Warsaw, Poland
1990
Seventh Prize, Soho Art Competition #10, New York, USA
1980-87
Three Grants from Minister of Culture, Poland
