Born in Venice in 1966 to Polish-Swiss parents, and eventually residing permanently in Switzerland, Karina’s artistic talents were recognised from an early age. Studies in music at the Academy in Berne and Salburg, and later, further academic studies (music, literature and art) at the Universities of Bern and Salzburg, led to an international concert career as a soloist and chamber musician. A recipient of numerous internationally recognised prestigious awards for music, Karina’s musical career spanned approximately 8 years. An injury in the year 2000 however, abruptly ended this acclaimed career albeit, not strictly, the music.
Read MorePainting was to prove her solace, and was a natural progression from music, the latter remaining an essential impetus for the creation of her artworks. Titles to many of Karina’s works indicate the music reference: “Lotus under the moonlight – Hommage to Toshio Hosokawa” (2006), and “Drip Music II” (2006), for example. Her works, created from a unique combination of acrylic, lacquer and quartz sand on canvas, to form an abstract, yet fluid composition, invariably couched within a minimal intensity of colour – blue, red, white and orange for example – resonate with a lyricism, which seemingly draws the viewer in, “demanding that these works be seen and felt rather than merely looked at”. Further: “Her dancing, flowing lines take our eyes far beyond the edges of her canvas into imagining what lies beyond, much like the notes of a sublime piece of music.” (Ian Findlay-Brown, Catalogue, “Karina Wisniewska”, 2006).
Currently represented by a number of galleries internationally (New York, Miami, Hong Kong, Berne, Zurich, Lucerne and Basel), Karina has been represented at in excess of 25 international art fairs, including Art Frankfurt (2004, 2005), Art Singapore (2006), Art Cologne (2006, 2007, 2008), Art Basel Miami Beach (2006), KIAF in Seoul, Korea (2007, 2008), Hong Kong International Art Fair (2008), and in 2011 at the esteemed Art Basel. Her work is represented in a number of prestigious collections including the Museum Abbatial de Payerne (Switzerland), the Museum Hanny Frick Collection (Liechtenstein) and the UBS Art Collection (Zurich), as well as a number of notable private collections in Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Italy, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and the United States.
