Eva Kowalewska

Eva Wioletta Kowalewska (born 5 January 1981) is a Polish celebrity known for her relationship with Paul-Loup Sulitzer and for taking part in a French television reality show La Ferme Célébrités.

Early life
Her initial introduction to art came at an early age when her uncle, an artist, introduced her to the art of draughtsmanship, later resulting in a number of works exhibited in local art centres. She was also invited to appear on a popular children's show on National Polish television, " Teleranek", a number of times at the age of 11. While on holiday in the French Riviera as a teenager (1992–94), she earned money as a portraitist on the famous Croisette in Cannes.

She began her education unusually early in Poland and was able to graduate from an American high school in 1997. Still aged sixteen, Eva Kowalewska, began her higher education at AUP in Paris, leaving for further education at the University of Miami. She left her studies there to attend the School of Arts and Sciences, before returning once again to AUP. During her travels and education, she partook in a large number of short term art courses.

Artwork
She is an amateur painter, author of collage paintings which introduced genetic elements, such as hair, into the composition. She is the first of a group of three female Polish artists to create the self-dubbed "genart". Kowalewska has worked in Paris, London and Poland and currently lives and works in London.

Her first grouped works were a group of satirical portraits of her fellow competitors in the French television reality show La Ferme Célébrités.

Genart
In late 2003 and early 2004 Eva came together with her friend and fellow artist Anna Maryniak to create a new form of Polish Contemporary Art. Their intention was to introduce new elements while keeping paintings with a traditional air. She produced her first three paintings alongside Maryniak. They used the same models and compositions to create a number of experimental works, until the desired effect of what they called ‘genart’, was achieved. Although non-traditional painting/ drawing methods were used (such as hair and polymer clay bass-reliefs) the artists insist that all the non-traditional methods incorporated into the paintings must be justified within the composition. In no way were the paintings to become collages of randomly pieced together elements. Eva later developed her genart style and incorporated harsher lines, while in keeping with her content matter. Although some paintings have more vibrant colours, her style is rather dark and is usually in hues of sepia. Eva is the most consequent of the 'genart' painters, keeping all her exhibited works in the style.

The Modern Venus Series
This is Eva Kowalewska's largest group of paintings. They were created in Paris and Poland over a period of eleven months in 2004, according to the artist. A few of the paintings were created at a later date with the Espace Elysee Ponthieu Exhibition in 2005, in mind.

This series was the first where Kowalewska introduced the 'genetic element' of hair. A mixture of false hair from wigs and varying amounts of natural human hair are used in each of the paintings. The paintings, which are generally female nudes are done in dry pastels and acrylic paints along with a myriad of different and unknown media used to create textured surfaces. Some of the paintings have three-dimensional elements, such as hands, in polymer clay as well as fabrics. These paintings are also the first where she made an experimental move towards texturizing her backgrounds. Most of the media used to create the textures have been unidentified, and the artist has never made a move to clarify what she uses to create her original backgrounds. Some of these materials, have however been identified as fabrics and grass.

The Snare' Series / Seria 'W Matni
These paintings are an evolution of The Modern Venus Series. The first Snare Series paintings were shown during the Espace Elysee Ponthieu Exhibition in 2005. Eva Kowalewska began working on the series immediately after the 2004 Galerie Osenat Exhibition. Although stylistically, the paintings do not veer too far away from The Modern Venus Series, there are a number of visible differences. In these paintings, the laying of the pastels on the bodies is more rough, and harsher lines are present. Acrylic paints have also been used by the artist for the first time to paint her nudes. All the paintings in this series also have real human hair incorporated into them. The most noted one is  'Cheveux de Diana T' , where all the hair in the painting is natural human hair, including the hair in the pubic region. These paintings are also generally larger than the previous ones. Another of the controversial paintings, the large  'La Folie d'un Reve Eveille'  was noted to have been erased from photographs showing Ms Kowalewska and her models in a number of French magazines. This was apparently due to the violent and erotic nature of the paintings, which emanate a darker aura than the artists previous works.

Exhibitions

 * Galerie Osenat (Paris, 16th arrondisement) December 2004. The Modern Venus Series and a small selection of caricatures of fellow La Ferme members, shown drring a solo exhibition.


 * Espace Elysee Ponthieu (Paris, 78 Avenue des Champs-Elysees) May–June 2005. The Modern Venus Series and a number of 'The Snare' Series paintings shown during a solo exhibition. Due to the large size of the exhibition space, Kowalewska invited fellow artist Mitic Spiridon to exhibit his works in a separate area.


 * Musee d'Erotisme Exhibit (Paris, Montmartre, Place Pigalle) October 2006. "The Snare" Series and a few paintings from The Modern Venus Series were exhibited on an entire floor of the famous museum for a month in a solo exhibition.


 * Hotel de Ville (Ramatuelle, France) March 2007. Private viewing of a selection of ten paintings in a short-term solo exhibition at the Mairie de Ramatuelle.

Sulitzer et Moi
Sulitzer et Moi was published by Editions 1 in April 2003. The writing of the biography by the young artist was brought on by numerous articles in the French press of a scandalous nature. These were pertaining her four year relationship (2002–2007) with French author and financier, Paul-Loup Sulitzer, thirty-five years her senior. In it she depicts her life from an early age, through to the time when she was in her relationship, in an attempt to present her version of her much publicized relationship.

Journal Intime de Gosia
Journal Intime de Gosia was published by Editions S.G.B in 2006. Eva shares joint authorship of this novel with close friend and fellow artist Anna Maryniak. There was slight controversy surrounding the book because the authors claimed that the book was a mix of true events and fiction, which led to the press trying to separate fact from fiction. The authors, however, did not divulge any clarifying information.

It is a novel written in the form of a diary by a young girl who encounters horrific and humiliating experiences. She grows up in a pathological environment created by her mother. Although she lives through traumatic situations, Gosia grows up to be successful in her personal and professional life. The reader is meant to observe a young woman of high ethics and high spirits.