Artistic bio
Here are some important details about my professional experienceand interests.
- Professional activities
- 2000 / Currently. “Karolak Art”. I'm as as an independent professional: painter, illustrator, graphic designer, web designer. Areas of my creative activity: painting, artistic illustration, drawing and artistic projects in the field of graphic design. I also design, implement, manage and optimize websites.
- 2021 / Currently. “Art Lessons”. Teaching activities: in my art studio in Warsaw, I teach fine arts. I also give online lessons. I prepare candidates to take entrance exams to art schools and universities. I teach drawing, painting, design, and I lecture on art history. My students have passed the entrance exams to the following universities and high schools: Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, Polish-Japanese Academy of Information Technology in Warsaw - here: Faculty of New Media Art, Wojciech Gerson State High School of Fine Arts in Warsaw, CosinusYoung High School of Fine Arts 15+ in Warsaw, Complex of State Institutions of Art Education named after Jan Cybis in Opole (Plastyczniak in Opole), the Józef Chełmoński State Secondary School of Fine Arts in Nałęczów, the Leon Wyczółkowski State Secondary School of Fine Arts in Bydgoszcz, the Secondary School of Fine Arts in Wodzisław Śląski.
- 2006 / 2021. “Diplomas Lux”. I'm as an independent professional: graphic designer, designer, and manufacturer of souvenir and advertising items. My primary activities include the design and production of commemorative diplomas and decorative certificates printed on metal and fine art paper. I also design and produce decorative desk badges, metal name badges, metal information boards, metal nameplates, and more. During the years I conducted this business in Poland, I was the only manufacturer of diplomas and certificates with artistic-quality designs and prints on metal.
- My clients
- Institute of Mathematics of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Agency for Innovation Development SA, QS Zurich Sp. o.o., Office of Technical Inspection UDT CERT – Warsaw Branch, ZETOM-CERT Sp. z o.o., Republican Foundation, FEWE – Foundation for Efficient Energy Use, Polish-Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, ChemSpin Sp. z o.o. – Industrial Chemistry Institute in Warsaw, Steinbacher Izoterm Sp. z o.o., Walcownia Rur Silesia SA, Polpharma Biuro Handlowe Sp. z o.o., PEX PharmaSequence Sp. z o.o., Międzyleski Specialist Hospital in Warsaw, Postgraduate Medical Center in Warsaw, Military Aviation Works No. 2 SA, “Oświata – Ochota ” Housing Cooperative in Warsaw, INSANTO Event & Marketing Sp.j., PBS Connect Polska, TOYOTA Radość Sp.j. and many others, including individual clients.
- Selected projects and awards
- 12.2024 – The premiere of my book titled “The Art of Sketching. A Guide to Developing Artistic Drawing Skills to Successfully Pass the Entrance Exam for Art High School or Academy of Fine Arts.”. More...
- 11.2024 – The premiere of my book titled “Educational Manifesto. How the education system ignores the educational needs of young artists – about entrance exams to art schools and the Academy of Fine Arts.”. More...
- 06.2020 – My illustration from the “Thanatos” series received an honorable mention in the national mythological graphic competition titled “Lords of the Night and Dreams”, organized by the cultural and literary magazine Szuflada.net of the Artistic Foundation “SZUFLADA”.
- 2019 / 2020 – Three bookplates of my authorship were presented at the exhibition titled “International Review of Digital Bookplates Ex DIGITALIS Salon 2019” organized by the Centre for Contemporary Art ZNAKI CZASU in Toruń. I made the bookplates for the “27th Wrocław Good Books Fair” in 2018. The exhibition of works at the CSW ZNAKI CZASU in Toruń lasted from 12/2019 to 02/2020. More...
- 2019 – Artistic cooperation with the Spontaneous Artistic and Practical Workshops Foundation “VARSZTATOVNIA” - I conducted integration and artistic classes here.
- 07.2018 – My series of drawings titled “One Day in the Life of a Freelance Artist” received an honorable mention in the illustration competition titled “One Day in the Life of a Freelancer” organized in Poland by PayPal. More...
- 2017 – “Certificate From Web Guru Awards For The Art Of Anna Maria Karolak ” awarded to my art portfolio project. Certificate issue date: January 2017, license no. 27012017. Receiving the certificate was a result of my winning an award in the international “Web Guru Awards ” competition for website design.
- 01.2017 – “The Web Guru Awards, The Winner ”. Award for my web art portfolio project received in an international web design competition. More...
- 2016 – The “Remerciements – Les Illustrateurs de Baudelaire” online book and e-book by Professor Ivan Bernier from Université Laval in Québec. In this book, the author analyzes the work of the best contemporary illustrators of Charles Baudelaire's poetry. My illustrations inspired by Baudelaire's poetry, are presented in the book. More: “Spleen I” and “Spleen II”.
- 2010 – Fryderyk Chopin's 200th Birthday Jubilee, Pabianice. My poster titled “Fryderyk Chopin. Music of My Soul II” was promoted of the series of the artistic events titled “Fryderyk in Pabianice - Chopin Year 2010 Celebrations in Pabianice” held under the honorary patronage of the Mayor of Pabianice and organized by the State Primary and Secondary Music School in Pabianice. My poster was also printed in the commemorative catalog of these events — the anniversary publication of Pabianice.
- 2009 / 2010 – “2010 – the 200th anniversary of Fryderyk Chopin's birth”. My poster titled “Fryderyk Chopin. Music of My Soul II” was among the finalists in the national graphic design competition “Fryderyk Chopin,” organized by the Wilanów Poster Museum, the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, and the cultural and social portal www.sophisti.pl to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Fryderyk Chopin's birth. The event concluded with an outdoor exhibition of the selected posters in June 2009 on Nowy Świat Street in Warsaw. More...
- 2009 – “The Mirror of Life ” illustration for the quarterly “Tematy z Szewska” (Threads from Szewska Street), a journal edited and published by staff and associates of the Department of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Wrocław. I created an artistic illustration titled “Mirror of Life” for issue 1(3)/2009 of the quarterly. My illustration opened a printed, multi-page portfolio of works by Polish artists who created works with the theme of this issue of the journal, the slogan ‘mirror’. The quarterly “Tematy z Szewska” was distinguished by its top-notch editorial design. Unfortunately, the quarterly is no longer published. More...
- 1998 / 2006 – Artistic collaboration with TV Polsat, TV Centrum, and TV Onet.pl, presenting my art on TV. I gave interviews on the programs “Kruchta kulturalna” and “Hit-Kit” and drew for the cameras on air. I participated in the recurring program “Portret na życzenie” (Portrait on Demand) on TV Polsat, portraying well-known figures from the world of Polish culture. I created a portrait of Agnieszka Osiecka, among others. These were the last years of Polish TV, when it still had ambitions to promote contemporary Polish visual artists.
- 06.2005 – I was a special guest with a solo painting exhibition at the “Manhattan Fashion Show”, a fashion show combined with a fine art exhibition at the “Manhattan Design Club Party” at 11 Zgoda Street in Warsaw. This club no longer exists. The event was organized under the honorary patronage of the International Women's Forum. Media patrons: Gala, onet.pl, ELITY, kobiety.pl. Event partners: Bata, Clarins Paris, SAPU – School of Artistic Fashion Design.
- 2003 / 2004 – Artistic collaboration with the Polish National Cultural Heritage Documentation Foundation. My paintings and graphics were presented in exhibitions titled “Polish Contemporary Art” organized in Italy and France in 2003 and 2004.
- 2003 / 2004 – Artistic collaboration with the International Women's Forum. This organization of businesswomen, based at the Warsaw School of Economics, sponsored my work as part of its promotion of art by young artists. This patronage culminated in an exhibition of my work at the InterContinental Hotel in Warsaw in 2004.
- 2003 – Presentation of my oil paintings at the exhibition of Polish fantasy art “POLKON 2003” in Elbląg.
- 2001 / 2002 – Apollon Art Gallery in Warsaw. As part of my collaboration with the gallery, numerous of my oil paintings have been sold to private art collections in England and France. Unfortunately, I do not have good photographs of these works, so I do not present them here in my portfolio.
- 2001 – Participation in a collective painting exhibition titled “Open Doors”, organized by the Painting Section of the Warsaw District of the Association of Polish Artists and Designers, at the Association's headquarters at 11A Mazowiecka Street in Warsaw.
- In 1995, my work titled “A Noble Doll and Her House,” won a special award in the national children's toy design competition titled “The Doll and Her House“. The competition was organized by the Institute of Industrial Design in Warsaw and the Toy Museum in Kielce, under the honorary patronage of the Minister of National Education. My work was presented in two post-competition exhibitions: at the Institute of Industrial Design in Warsaw (1995) and at the Toy Museum in Kielce (1996). Since 2019, my work has been on display in the permanent exhibition at the Toy Museum in Kudowa-Zdrój. More...
- They write about my art
- Bernier I., “Remerciements – Les Illustrateurs de Baudelaire”, Université Laval, Québec 2016. The book presents the best contemporary world illustrators of Charles Baudelaire's work. In this book are also presents my work inspired by Baudelaire's poetry.
- Bajc K., “Unstvarjalno eksperimentiranje z likovnimi materiali pri likovnem pouku”, Univerza v Ljubijani – Pedagoška Fakulteta, Ljubijana 2015 p. 12.
- Korczyńska J., “Mechaniczne zwierzęta i ludzkie cyborgi w sztuce na wybranych przykładach”, Uniwersytet Jana Kochanowskiego w Kielcach, Kielce 2011, p. 99-102.
- “W innym świecie”, “Top Class – Pismo dla miłośników rzeczy pięknych i luksusowych” (“In a different world”, “Top Class – Magazine for lovers of beautiful and luxurious things”), 04.2004, p. 76-79 - the monographic article.
- “Wydział Konserwacji i Restauracji Dzieł Sztuki Akademii Sztuk Pięknych w Warszawie 1947 – 1997”, ed. J. Charytoniuk, A. Koss, L. Krzyżanowski, P. Rudniewski, Warszawa 1997, p. 104. Jubilee edition of the Department of Conservation and Restoration of Works of Art of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, here only a presentation of one of my oil painting.
- “Wyłonić z cienia”, Eurostudent Magazyn Akademicki (“Emerging from the Shadows”, Eurostudent Academic Magazine), no. 181-182/03-04/2010 - the monographic article.
- Education
- 2021 / 2023 – University of Warsaw, Faculty of Pedagogy, major: Postgraduate Studies in Pedagogy for Teachers without Pedagogical Preparation.
- 1995 / 1999 – Studies at the Department of Easel Painting Techniques at the Faculty of Preservation and Restoration of Works of Art at the AFA in Warsaw.
- 1994 / 1995 – Studies at the Department of Easel Painting Techniques at the Faculty of Painting at the AFA in Warsaw.
- 1993 / 2000 – Studies at Akademia Sztuk Pięknych (Academy of Fine Arts) [AFA] in Warsaw, Faculty pf Graphic Arts. I'm a Master of Fine Arts.
- Interests
- New technologies, graphic design, web design, old art, contemporary art, literature, science (including astronomy, cosmology, space industry, Earth sciences, paleontology), science fiction (literature and film), classical electronic music (including Klaus Schulze, J.M. Jarre, Neuronium), classical music.