An amateur painter, member of the Lublin Society of Fine Arts. Her artistic potential and considerable talent became apparent in 2000, somewhat by chance, and have developed exponentially ever since. Religious art, in which she had been interested virtually all her life, became the central theme of her works. Angels, shrines and images of Our Lady in various depictions – always vivid and colourful – are clearly deeply rooted in the rich and beautiful realm of her artistic soul. Grażyna Kulig’s exhibition features: toys and Christmas decorations, created on various occasions at Galeria u Gacki in Lublin, as well as angels and shrines originally shown in Sandomierz: at Trzon (Rynek) and Zapole (ul. Opatowska) galleries.
Shrine
The Christ’s Shrine is a small spatial form, roughly the size of a water glass. The author is known to produce such shrines in large numbers, using a variety of materials. For this particular shrine, a small box was used, coated with glued-on pieces of paper and fabric and topped with a triangular roof, itself covered with small black and red sticks more or less the size of half a match. The sticks are glued on irregularly, angling out in various directions. The central part of the box forms an indent reminiscent of an alcove, with a picture of Christ wearing the crown of thorns glued to the back wall. Christ is looking up, towards either the sky or the shrine’s ceiling above his head. The whole form has been placed on a flat piece of wood covered, similarly to the roof, with tiny, glued-on sticks. The entire form, including the picture, is done mostly in earthen colours: brown, grey and beige.
Portrait of Baby Jesus
“Portrait of Baby Jesus” is a relatively small, 30 x 30 cm oil painting. The head of Baby Jesus takes up most of the space. It is chubby, with round black eyes, red heart-shaped lips and a shapely nose. The baby’s hair is dark and curly, topped with an imposing halo – golden but made to look somewhat aged with traces of dark and turquoise green. The halo partially protrudes beyond the edges of the painting, most evidently so at the top. The author enclosed the work in a broad frame lined with gauze and oil-painted. The general colour palette of the work is dark, dominated by hues of brown and black, bringing to mind an aged painting by one of the great masters of old.
