Katarzyna Chmielarz is a Montreal-based artist originally from Poland. With a background in Studio Arts and Art History from Concordia University, she is a multidisciplinary artist who explores the possibilities of total creative expression beyond traditional aesthetic and theatrical boundaries.

Through her paintings, Katarzyna expresses her feelings of loss and nostalgia for her native home in Poland. Her work is influenced by the sediment of history and her struggles to understand her identity in relation to her past, present, and future. She uses her art to articulate her sense of self while fiercely resisting the conditions that seek to determine her, including nationality, politics, and family.

Katarzyna is fascinated by the intersections between her early life and her life as a Canadian citizen, struggling to navigate the unfamiliar. Katarzyna’s paintings reflect a deep realism, portraying people and experiences that capture the universal search for humanity and self-expression. Each painting represents the artist’s insistence on self-discovery and her search for goodness and wisdom across boundaries, in defiance of societal norms and trauma.