Now, debuting her first exhibition in LA, Ania has begun to slowly unveil what exists outside the frame: hands reaching in, the gaze becoming ever-so-centered, and a full image taking shape as the fires in her paintings kindle more than ever, radiating notions of self-healing and an unwavering spirit of empowerment.
In our conversation, we discussed her latest exhibition, art as a form of therapy, a profound love for coats, and much more.
Let’s start with your most recent exhibition in LA, “Playing with Fire”—tell me about the symbolism referenced behind the recurring motif of fires and flames in your work.
I picked “Playing With Fire” because I like looking at emotions as it is with my figures. It can also be something dangerous, romantic, angry, or even just deeply passionate. I think it says a lot about that being a survival thing for us. It’s comforting but also dangerous if it gets out of hand. It’s all those things I was looking at. The drawing there was called “Call Me Emotional”, and it was based on women being called crazy, and I wanted these ladies to be angry but very strong and powerful in themselves. It’s like an army marching toward the viewers.
Speaking about your work being very emotionally charged, would you say that informed your decision to shift to a dominantly red color palette?
The red definitely for me was an emotional thing for me that expressed what I was going through at the time—a really bad break-up. I was so angry and it felt horrible, but suddenly my paintings went red which was shocking, and at the same time, really beautiful too. It just did something to me and I really enjoyed it.
Some of your earlier paintings do feature the subtle red outline around the subjects too, so would you also say it also sparked around that time?
The background being more red was around the break-up, yes. In terms of the outlines being red, I think that might’ve started seven years ago, but it was more to reference blood, reminiscent of when you’d hold your hand up to the light and there’s that slight appearance of the red haze almost. It really made the figure pop out, but also add life to the paintings. So now, for me, the paintings aren’t alive yet or finished if the red outline isn’t present.