Janina KRAUPE-ŚWIDERSKA (1921 - 2016), Book of divinations; 1991

Color linocut, paper; 19 x 13 cm
Signed, dated, described at bottom in white paint: "Book of Divination" 11/50 J. Kraupe 1991
Ed.: 11/50

One of the most interesting and original Polish artists. Already at the age of seventeen in 1938, she began studying painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow. From 1942 to 1943 she participated in Kantor's underground theater activities. After the war, she continued her studies in easel painting under Eugeniusz Eibisch and in monumental painting under Waclaw Taranczewski. At the same time, she studied printmaking in the studios of Andrzej Jurkiewicz and Konrad Srzednicki. She worked at her alma mater, obtaining the title of associate professor in 1980 and full professor in 1987. She participated in shaping Polish modern art while being an auteur focused on her own direction. The artist was associated with the Cracow Group. Janina Kraupe - Świderska in her works refers to alchemical traditions where there were no separate individual sciences yet. Consciously choosing a direction beyond what seems current, she reaches deep into the spiritual space where perfecting herself translates into perfecting matter. A peculiar kind of writing appears in her works, in which the influences of various ancient and modern alphabets or forms of musical notation are visible. In her works every symbol, color has a justification. The artist's works intrigue, vibrate, are open and ambiguous.
Her works are in numerous museums and private collections, including the National Museums in Krakow, Poznan, Wroclaw, Szczecin, Warsaw, the Art Museum in Lodz as well as museums in Dortmund, Dresden, Florence, Geneva, New York, Oxford, Sao Paulo Vienna and many others.