Iga Bielawska paints a world that incorporates womanhood, queerness and the zodiac

Here at It’s Nice That we seem drawn to painters who have a recurring character figures within their oeuvres. Amanda Ba captures audiences with her giantess figures and Elsa Ruoy makes us twist our necks in awe of the female forms awkwardly interacting on her canvas. For the Polish-born London-based artist Iga Bielawska, what’s most enchanting is how her colourful characters merge femininity and the mystic, as she seeks to “redefine the representation of women and craft images that resonate with me, unburdened by the voyeuristic and gendered spectatorship of the past”.

The recent Central Saint Martins graduate can often be found creating work with a domestic and intimate feel. As a queer woman, she draws upon her personal experiences, using found imagery to create such scenes and figures. “I try to empower them to take centre stage, as active narrators of their own portraits,” she tells us. More recently, Iga ventured into the world of the zodiac, with a series of three paintings – Taurus, Cancer and Gemini – she was drawn to the theme as she wanted to “transport viewers into a realm of magical realism”. With a canvas that acts as both a portal and playful ground, we look forward to the growth of her universe, blurring the boundaries between reality and fantasy.