Collection

Ant Łakomsk's paintings depict women in intimate moments of solitude—while reading or in the shower. The figures in Leisure and Shower are embedded in the claustrophobic space of a narrow vertical canvas. It brings to mind the wings of late Gothic altars with slender, elongated silhouettes of saints. The method of applying translucent layers of paint goes hand in hand with references to the art of artists from the past. Leisure is part of a long tradition of depictions of women reading, such as the painting by Welsh artist Gwen John, A Lady Reading (1911). As in the work of its predecessor, it is accompanied by an aura of mystery that provokes the viewer to speculate about who the protagonist is and what is she reading. We do not get an answer to this question. In the painting Pair of Blanks, which offers a view from behind the protagonist, we see only blank, unwritten pages. In turn, the Thonet chair in the painting Shower refers to the work of Marc Camille Chaimowicz, the patron of the exhibition from which the paintings originate. The French conceptualist, combining elements of industrial design and fine arts in his work, addressed the themes of identity, memory, and time – key themes in Łakomsk's own art.

photo by Bartek Zalewski, courtesy of the Turnus Gallery

Painter, sculptor, and creator of installation. She is a graduate of the Faculty of Media Art at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. Important themes in her practice are memory, collective consciousness, and emotions. In her works, the artist often engages in dialogue with the art of past eras. Finalist of Bielska Jesień 2023 and KAF Young Art Prize 2024, winner of the ING Polish Art Foundation Main Prize in 2025 for the exhibition Camille, created with Zuzanna Kozłowska at the Turnus gallery. She lives and works in Warsaw.