Agata Borowa

This month I'm pleased to be welcoming Agata Borowa, a Polish painter who lives and works in Warsaw. Her works explore themes of representation, illusion, and the perception of reality. From 2019 to 2020, she collaborated with the Department of Molecular Biophysics at Adam Mickiewicz University, researching the possibilities of 'Schlieren effect, which resulted in the creation of the film 'I am the air you breathe'. In 2001 she co-founded the group Borowe Sisters, with her sister Dorothy which explores themes of sisterhood and identity. For several years, she has been collaborating with Piotr Leszczyński as the Hypnosis Collective, working together on art and science projects. Agata teaches drawing at the School of Form, in the Design Department of SWPS University, Warsaw.


Agata says 'an artist residency is, for me, a moment to step outside the everyday and encounter something other — both in the world and within myself. I come open to new experiences, seeking inspiration in colour and landscape. I’m interested in colour not just as a visual element, but as a force that shapes perception, emotion, and memory. I explore how colours interact, how they influence what and how we see — and whether what we see is truly located where we look.

Themes of illusion often appear in my work — not as tricks, but as questions about the nature of seeing. Equally important is the act of painting itself: physical, sensory, and intuitive. I hope to use this time to deepen my practice in a space where looking becomes experiencing, and the painted image becomes a trace of perception.'