Edyta Olszewska is a painter and object-based artist. She graduated from the Faculty of Painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków. Her work combines the theatrical chiaroscuro of Baroque tenebrism with visual opulence and references drawn from pop culture. Christian iconography and its associated symbolism appear frequently in her practice, particularly imagery tied to the Passion of Christ. These motifs are transposed into a broader symbolic and cultural framework—bridging the sacred with the sensual, the traditional with the contemporary.

​

Olszewska’s compositions often resemble dreamlike visions. This is especially evident in her portraits of contemporary women, where religious symbolism coexists with a heightened emotional atmosphere. Her work explores the dual meaning embedded in the word “Passion”—evoking both spiritual suffering and intense emotion. Through this lens, she investigates the coexistence of extremes: ecstasy and pain, sanctity and seduction.

​

Her paintings draw on a vast repertoire of religious imagery and place it within the lineage of European Baroque painting, reinterpreted through a distinctly contemporary gaze. The use of light plays a central role in her practice. Light ennobles and accentuates; it elevates simple narratives, imbuing her subjects with an almost divine aura. It is used deliberately to reveal depth and meaning, casting the figures she paints—especially women—in the same dramatic illumination that might fall on a weeping Virgin Mary. In Olszewska’s portraits, tears shimmer like jewelry, sequins glow like sacred relics.

​

Light and radiance guide the viewer’s eye, shaping the composition and heightening emotional impact. Glimmer, flash, and illumination seduce the viewer; they pierce the darkness to reveal details—jewels, embellishments, or symbolic gestures—that define the atmosphere of her paintings. In this theatrical setting, perception becomes unstable; the viewer is drawn into illusion, a distortion of reality.

​

The tension between contrast and harmony is central to Olszewska’s visual language. Her practice is rooted in this duality, taking inspiration from the formal strategies of Baroque painting—its richness, drama, and sense of spectacle. She is particularly drawn to glittering, saturated, and lavish imagery. Yet beyond the decorative surface, her aim is to construct a symbolic space—one shaped by thoughtful themes, a consistent use of color, and the intricate interplay of light and shadow.