About Ewa
Ewa Perz was born in Gdansk, Poland. There she received a Masters degree in Biology but nurtured a hidden passion for being an artist. After living in Europe she moved to Mexico City, where the bold colors of the indigenous palette deeply inspired her to start painting. From there she traveled to Costa Rica to take classes with Felo Garcia and to Santa Fe to study with David Laffel. Global cultures, styles, and trends strongly influence her choices in themes. Leaving her career in the sciences behind, she relocated to Louisville, Kentucky. It was here that her practice matured and the local galleries and curators took notice of her unique and compelling imagery. Ewa has exhibited in Louisville with Revelry Gallery, Louisville Visual Art, and in Lexington with the Ann Tower Gallery and SouthHill Gallery. She has twice been featured in group shows at Art Basel in Miami and exhibited at San Jose Del Cabo, Mexico. In 2011 she attended a residency in Antibes, France resulting in an exhibit of work at Galerie Municipale.
Ewa Perz describes her life in Poland as gray and dull, that fell into an institutionalized aesthetic that has become a cliche of Eastern Europe. There is always a kernel of truth in every cliche and for Ewa, that truth repressed her artistic nature.
In Mexico City, she found her first taste of creative freedom in the vibrant colors that dominate that environment, brilliant red, yellow, orange, green, and blue that date back to the pre-Columbian period and have traveled forward through the native dyes and textiles.
Upon relocating to Louisville, Kentucky, Ewa took classes with Louisville Visual Art and then became a part of the community of artists working under the tutelage of Susan Howe at Mudpies Studios.
The bold and singular use of color has been characteristic of Ewa’s work ever since, as she has developed dynamic monochromatic compositions using simple subjects, isolating animals and flowers from their environments to focus on the form and personality of those subjects. Yet she is not interested in the form itself but in how her color and application of paint shape that form. Like many great artists, the resulting image reveals itself through the process.
Her thematic choices indicate an underlying commitment to environmentalism and animal rights, but Ewa is not a typical activist, preferring to let her art speak for her. In 2017 her “Water Works” exhibit consisted of paintings of bodies of water that are intimate, and contemplative; studies of beauty frozen in time. That sense of stillness and quiet encourages an appreciation for the natural world that might inspire more commitment to its preservation.
“I’m not always sure of my vision when I start a painting, even though I love control.”
The monochromatic palette was a self-imposed discipline, symbolic of that control yet also of hunger for growth and exploration, but that discipline began to feel too comfortable, and more recently Ewa has been breaking that restriction to explore and achieve a deeper understanding of the interrelationship between colors. Freedom allows for more adventure.
Written with assistance from Keith Waits
Statement
I paint for myself. I paint for my family, I paint to cope with my emotions, I paint to fill up an empty room. But most importantly, I paint for the colour. I see a world defined by its colour, whereas others see it defined by shape. To me, colour is what bares the essence of an object, and that is what I seek to portray. Forget about the strict lines of realism or the literal composition of reality, instead, by painting with a loose hand and abbreviated images, colour is what comes forth as the main element and takes over my paintings. Although I would like to say that I am influenced by Sargent, Matisse and Cassatt, I am by no means comparing myself to the masters, merely learning and aspiring.
Painting is my journey through life. It is exhausting, exhilarating, and frustrating task. Colours have faded and gone wrong, proportions have morphed and canvases have warped only to be stretched again. Yet whatever I go through, whatever obstacle that comes in my way, I simply cannot stop loving it. Painting is my passion, it is my love. It is my life.
Exhibitions
April 2023 – “Win Place” – group show at Revelry Gallery
June – December 2022 – “Art in Metro Hall” group show
August 2021 – 2023 – solo show at Lex Airport Gallery
April 2021 – “Win Place” – group show at Revelry Gallery, 3rd place
May 2020 – “My Herd” – solo show at Revelry Gallery
May 2019 – “Perspective of Home” group show at 1619 Flux Gallery
December 2018 – group show at Craft gallery
April – October 2018 – solo show at AC Hotel
November 2017 – “Water Strokes”- solo show at Revelry Gallery
September 2017 – Ewa Perz at Butchertown Social solo show
December 2016 – Spectrum – group show at Art Basel Miami
October 2016 – First Place in “Metamorphosis” art competition by LVA
October 2016 – Mural for Holiday Manor Kroger
September 2015 – “Lush” solo show Ann Tower Gallery, Lexington Ky
September 2014-2016 – Revelry Gallery; Louisville, KY
December 2014 – Global Ties Miami Exhibition; Art Basel week; Miami, FL
May 2013 – ‘Dons d’Artistes’ exhibition; Antibes, France
2011-2012 – Un Oeil Ouvert; Loubet, France
May 2011 – Galerie Municipale; Antibes, France
Summer 2011 – Artist residency; Antibes, France
December 2, 2010 – La Dolce Art Gallery; San Jose del Cabo, BCS, Mexico
August – December 2010 – E Gallery; West Palm, FL
February 2010 – Galerie Les Bains Douches; Antibes, France
October 2009 – The Cove, Miami, FL – The Best Female Artist
March 2009 – “All that Color”- Virtz Gallery; Miami, FL
December 2008 – Spirit del Art; Miami, FL
March – May 2008 BCI Gallery; KY
Spring 2008 – Avalon Gallery; KY
January 2008 – Art Exhibition at the Coral Springs Museum of Art; Coral Springs, FL
December 2007 – Museum School of Art; Boca Raton, FL
December 2006 – Jan. 19, 2007 – “CHEZ” – the Gallery at Kentucky Center for the Arts; Louisville, KY
August – December 2006 – Swanson Reed Gallery; Louisville, KY
December 2006 – February 2007 – Le Rouge; Louisville, KY
May 2006 – Frasier Museum; Louisville, KY
December 2005 – “My World in Red Blue And Yellow” – ArtBeat Gallery; Louisville, KY
May 2005 – Frasier Museum; Louisville, KY