Jolanta JOHNSSON (b. 1955), *The Kiss of the Sun*, 1999

gouache on paper, 62 x 43 cm, signed lower right: Jolanta Johnsson 99

Born in 1955, Jolanta Johnsson is a Polish artist living in Sweden whose work encompasses painting, drawing, printmaking, collage, and sculpture. She primarily works in oil on canvas, mixed media on paper, printmaking, collage, and sculptural forms made of steel and wood.
Her artistic practice is based on a continuous dialogue between landscape and the human figure. Nature plays a key role in her work, not as a direct representation, but as an emotional and structural experience. The landscapes she observes become the starting point for compositions that gradually move toward abstraction, revealing the patterns, rhythms, and growth systems found in the natural world.
In addition to landscape, the human figure allows Johnsson to explore existential questions and the paradoxes of human life. The artist is drawn to moments of transformation and uncertainty—the space between opposing forces that defines human existence. Through simplified forms and open compositions, she seeks to express both vulnerability and resilience, highlighting the beauty present in human imperfection.

Education
1984–1989 Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, Department of Graphic Arts, studio of Prof. Halina Chrostowska and Prof. Rafał Strent; painting studio of Prof. Jerzy Tchórzewski.
2012 – Ph.D. in Fine Arts, Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków.
Teaches at the European Faculty of Arts at the Vistula Academy of Finance and Business, in the printmaking and graphic design studio.

Honors and Awards
2024 Alfred Nobel Scholarship, Karlskoga, Sweden

Solo Exhibitions:

2018:

– Aneks Gallery, Dom Chemika, Puławy
– DAP 2 Gallery, House of the Visual Artist, Warsaw
– Kisa Konsthal, Sweden
– Karwacjan and Gładysz Manor Museum, Gorlice

2017:

– Praga-Południe Cultural Promotion Center, Warsaw

2016:

– COEK Studio, Ciechanów

2014/2015

– Gallery of the European Faculty of Arts at AFiB Vistula, Warsaw

2014:

– Galleri Skadebanan, Linköping, Sweden
– City Hall Gallery, Linköping, Sweden
– Gallery U, Inauguration of the 2014/2015 Year of Culture in Ursynów, Warsaw

2013:

– Galeria na Piętrze, ZPAP Łódź
– Artist’s House Gallery, Lufcik, ZPAP Warsaw
– Gallery by the Library, Kisa, Sweden
– Gallery by the Library, Boxholm, Sweden

2010:

– Van Golik Gallery, Warsaw

2007:

– Składnica Sztuki Gallery, Warsaw
– Palace of Art, Kraków

2006:

– Forma Gallery, Warsaw

2003:

– Test Gallery, Warsaw
– “Do trzech razy… sztuka” Gallery, Warsaw

2001:

– House of Art, Ursynów, Warsaw

1998:

– Test Gallery, Warsaw
– Arsenał Municipal Gallery, Poznań

1995:

– Test Gallery, Warsaw

1994:

– Girardet Gallery, Essen, Germany

1993:

– Pestka Gallery, Ethnographic Museum, Warsaw

1991:

– Saabs Konstförening, Linköping, Sweden

1989:

– Galerie MB, Stockholm

1988:

– Kulturhuset, Nässjö, Sweden

Group exhibitions:

2019:

– Grafiteka 2018, Exhibition of the Graphic Arts Section of the Warsaw Branch of the Association of Polish Artists and Designers (ZPAP), DAP Gallery, House of the Visual Artist, Warsaw (post-competition exhibition for the Grafiteka 2019 competition)

2018:

– “Painting Above All,” an exhibition marking the 45th anniversary of the Jan Cybis Award, Lufcik Gallery, House of the Visual Artist, Warsaw
– Grafiteka 2018, Exhibition of the Printmaking Section of the Warsaw Branch of the Association of Polish Artists and Designers (ZPAP), DAP Gallery, House of the Visual Artist, Warsaw
– Ett verk var, painting exhibition, 60 artists, Stockholm-Husby, Sweden
– Aperio Charity Auction, Arsenał Municipal Gallery, Poznań

2017:

– Visions. Exhibition of the Painting Section of the Warsaw Branch of the Association of Polish Artists and Designers (ZPAP), DAP Gallery, House of Visual Artists, Warsaw
– Grafiteka 2017, Exhibition of the Printmaking Section of the Warsaw Branch of the Association of Polish Artists and Designers (ZPAP), DAP Gallery, House of the Visual Artist, Warsaw

2016:

– Post-competition exhibition of the 13th Józef Gielniak Graphic Arts Competition, Karkonosze Museum, Jelenia Góra

– 35×35 Art Project, Copelouzos Family Museum, Athens
– Three Dimensions, Painting on Canvas, DAP Gallery, House of the Visual Artist, Warsaw
– Grafiteka: Printmaking Yesterday and Today. 2016, DAP Gallery, House of the Visual Artist, Warsaw
– Aperio Charity Auction, The Castle, Poznań
– Charity Auction “For the Cape,” Xanadu Gallery, Warsaw

2015:

– Muse – 2015 – Magdalena Abakonowicz, Promotional Gallery, Center for Cultural Promotion in the Praga-Południe District, Warsaw
– Aperio Charity Auction, The Castle, Poznań
– Charity Auction “For the Cape,” Pragaleria, Warsaw

2014:

– News, ZPAP, Warsaw
– Aperio Charity Auction, Zamek, Poznań
– Charity Auction for Olaf, Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw
– Charity Auction for Max, Warsaw
– Abstraction, ZPAP, Warsaw

2013:

– Abstraction, ZPAP, Warsaw
– Current Events, ZPAP, Warsaw
– Vienna Showcase, Museum of Modern Art, Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna
– Grand Charity Auction for the Police Children’s Home, Polish Olympic Committee, Warsaw

2012:

– A New Beginning, Centennial of the Association of Polish Artists and Designers, House of the Visual Artist, Warsaw
– Feast with the Masters, Kraków, Palace of Art

2011:

– Abstraction in Nature, Lufcik Gallery, ZPAP, Warsaw
– Current Events, ZPAP, Warsaw
– Via Varsovia, 10 Years, ZPAP, Warsaw

2008:

– International Art Fair, Mitteleuropa Galleries, Stockholm, Sweden

2006:

– Polish Visual Artists – For Children, exhibition with a charity auction, Świdnica – New York

2004:

– Via Varsovia, Puławska Art Gallery, Dom Chemika, Puławy
– Via Varsovia, “Do trzech razy… sztuka” Gallery, Warsaw
– Milanówek Art Festival, Municipal Cultural Center, Milanówek

2003:

– Out of the Drawer, 1st Meeting of Ursynów Artists, Ursynów, Warsaw

2000:

– “Sculpture as a Personal Object,” an exhibition of sculpture and drawing, Lufcik Gallery, ZPAP, Warsaw
– Drawing 2000, “Mazovian Reflections,” Lufcik Gallery, ZPAP Warsaw
– Tolosy Sztuki, an exhibition of artists from the Warsaw District of ZPAP
– Flower Power, Art Office Gallery, Warsaw

1999:

– My Land, ZPAP, Warsaw

1998:

– The Artist and Her Worldview: Traces of Polish and American Culture—a traveling group exhibition of Polish and American female artists, USA

1997:

– Man in the Image – Xylon-Museum Print Exhibition + Workshops, Schwäzingen, Reutlingen City Museum, Germany

1996:

– Warsaw Painting Month, April, ZPAP, Warsaw

1995:

– Warsaw Painting Month, April, ZPAP, Warsaw

1994:

– International Triennial of Polish Graphic Art, Katowice

1992:

– 1st International Print Biennial, Maastricht, Netherlands

1991:

– National Post-Competition Print Exhibition, Łódź
– Polish Print Triennial, Kraków

1985:

– National Review of Drawings from Art Colleges, Katowice, Teachers’ Award

– National Review of Student Printmaking, Kraków