Kamila CK
Kamila CK is known for merging boundaries between performance art (circus, movement, dance, musicality) abstract painting and Japanese Zen calligraphy in a contemporary art context. Each of her artworks has a story and message behind it, providing a philosophical experience that not only challenges traditional thinking but also wakes up the core of the human existence.
Kamila CK became an artist in her early 30’s after leaving a successful career in London’s luxury hotel industry which followed her Master degree in International Hotel Management & Marketing from Oxford. At that time, she had no background, education or experience in arts. To research the market, she freelanced as a business consultant for London’s art galleries and performance & circus companies. To find her “artistic side”, she travelled to Kyoto, Japan where she lived during summer 2018 and since then started exploring various art mediums including painting, Japanese calligraphy and live performance. To educate herself as an artist, she attended courses with Slade School of Fine Arts in London, Japanese Zen calligraphy teacher - Ria Takeda and Aircraft Circus & Performance, London. The biggest breakthrough in her career came during pandemic in 2020 when her freelance work was put on hold alongside live performances. She decided to use that opportunity to built her own art studio and create her first collection of contemporary abstract paintings which she called “Bang”. As soon as the collection was released in 2021, it won a contemporary art competition and went for an exhibition in London with Boomer Gallery. A few months later, Kamila CK was chosen for a gallery representation by award-wining Laura I Gallery in London. She was also chosen for an art residency at NG Art & Creative Residency, France in late 2021, where she built a first ever shodo wall installation and performed her new act performance merging live painting with a trapeze act. Today she is working on her new 2022 collection called “Breakthrough” in her studio in Lincoln and staging her new performance act. Kamila CK ’s methods are innovative and completely her own, developed from the love of movement and inspired by the spiritual way of painting in shodo (Japanese Zen/spirit calligraphy). When she develops a new work, she avoids all logical planning, but rather have generic vision of what she wants to create including a main subject and an emotion sand subject for people to experience. Once the focus is established, the process is highly intuitive and organic- resembling a traditional shodo principles where a Zen calligrapher removes its mind from the process to let the work flow out of themselves. The true creative spirit takes over and the work creates itself beyond anyone’s expectations. This unique method is applied to all artworks, regardless of the medium. |
Lives and works in Lincoln and London, UK. Represented by Laura I Gallery, London
2020 until now - Shodo (the art of Japanese caligraphy) under Japanese teacher Rie Takeda
2022 Performance “Act of Spontaneity”, Artechouse, Miami, US
2021 Group Exhibition, Laura I Gallery, London: “The Art for the Soul”
2021 Group Exhibition, Laura I Gallery, London: “Globalisation - Exploring the I and You”
2021 Performance “Walk in Between” Movement and Live Painting, NG Art Residency, France
2021 Shodo Wall Installation “Floating Brushworks’ NG Art Residency, France
2021 Fashion Photography Collaboration for Call2Love (American Art Fashion Brand)
2021 Art Collaboration for Cognito, Japanese-British restaurant, Lincoln, UK
2021 Group Exhibition, Doncaster Art Fair, UK: “Art as a response to mental health”,
2021 Winning Place for a Group Exhibition, Boomer Gallery, London: “What is Art II?”
2020- 2021 “Bang” First Contemporary Abstract Collection Created and Released
2020 “Better Than Art School” programme by Amira Rahim for professional abstract artists
2020 Commission “The Peak of Life”
2019 Performance “Encounter with Mt.Fuji”, Bloomsbury Theatre, London
2019 Slade School of Fine Art, London “Colours for Painters” Course
2019 Two week artistic research in Japan (Tokyo, Mt.Fuji, Mijajima)
2019 Performance “Pendulum Swing”, AirCraft Circus, London
2018 Professional Course in Circus and Performance Arts, AirCraft Circus London
2018 First painting “Circle of Japanese Transformation” & print series due to demand
2018 Two week artistic research in Japan (Kyoto, Koyasan)
Prior to the art career:
2016 - 2020 Freelance Marketing Consultant for Art and Hospitality Industry in London
Key clients: Westbourne Hyde Park Hotel, Blakemore Hyde Park Hotel, Stour Space Art Gallery , Underdog Art Gallery, Aircraft Performance, Circus Glory, Alessandra Tortore Mural Artist
2014-2016: Marketing & Sales Head for Luxury Starcrown Hotel Group in London
2014 - 2012: Digital Marketing Head, Vestibule Marketing, marketing consultancy for luxury hotels, London
2012- 2011: Account Manager, Social Media Shop, marketing consultancy for travel industry, Oxford
2011 - 2009 PR & Marketing Executive, Lemongrass Marketing, marketing consultancy for hotels, Oxford
2008 - 2010: Master’s Degree in International Hotel Management, Oxford Brookes University, UK
2005-2007: Bachelor’s Degree in Hospitality and Tourism, Lublin, Poland
1985 Born in Lublin, Poland
Tears of Joy and Sadness in Colour
Inspired by the tragic peak of pandemic in the UK during the third national lockdown in January 2021. The subject of tears was chosen as a play on the tear drop stroke from artist’s shodo practice (Japanese calligraphy) and as a perfect response to a global pandemic.
When viewing up close, a viewer will notice multilayers of tears. The most obvious ones being “joy” painted in bright colours and “sadness” done in darker ones. There is also a third layer underneath, reminding of human unconscious emotions that we all store. Many tear drops have sculptural effect, as if coming out of the painting.
The painting merges contemporary abstraction with surrealism, trying to transcends the duality of life through colours, sculptural effects and contemporary composition.
This painting won a contemporary art competition a month after it was completed and was selected to be exhibited at Boomer Gallery, London as part of “What is Art II’ contemporary group art show in April 2021. It is also part of 2021 abstract collection called “Bang”.
The Circle of Japanese Transformation
This painting was completed after artist’s first visit to Japan in 2018. The circle was chosen as a background for Japanese- inspired composition featuring cherry blossom, Japanese red crown crane (a symbol of beauty and longevity) and a young women being transformed by what she sees. Only three colours were used to pay tribute to Japanese purity and minimalism. The work acts as a metaphor for artist’s own transformation after living and researching Japanese culture in Kyoto, Japan during summer 2018. Due to popular demand, the painting has been made into a series of limited edition prints. This is the first time the original has been made available for sale.
No Matter What is Going On Around You, Your Path Is Clear
Year 2020 in a painting. Created out of the chaos of the pandemic and during the second lockdown in the UK, in November 2020. The artists spent months isolated at home, experimenting with new colours, abstraction and surrealism. The circular opening was inspired by artist’s shodo practice (the art of Japanese calligraphy). The art work aims to reconnected the viewer with their own path in life and inject the sense of hope, despite uncertain circumstances around. First art work from 2020 abstract collection called “Bang”.
Enso Transformed
It all begun with Enso, a symbol that the artist discovered when learning shodo (the art of Japanese calligraphy) during lockdown 2020. Also known as the Zen Circle or Circle of Enlightenment, it is considered the pinnacle of Zen Buddhism. Empty yet full, infinite and complete, the calligrapher's hand draws it in one breath, with no corrections permitted afterwards. It is the ultimate exercises of clearing one’s mind and achieving a higher consciousness state where the circle brushes itself, with very little effort and control by the artist. The true creative spirit takes over and the work creates itself beyond anyone’s expectations.
The artist has been fascinated by the Enso from the first moment she heard about it. She become brushing Enso daily and took lessons from the Japanese calligraphy teacher and artist, Rie Takeda. After a year of practice and research, the subject has outgrown the traditional process in black and white, and become an idea for an abstract painting in colour called “Enso Transformed”.
When the artist set out to create an Enso-inspired contemporary art work, she wanted to paint the whole canvas in the intuitive, shodo way; removing myself from the process while igniting viewers with magic on canvas.
When the painting started with Enso (brushed in traditional way in one single breath and no corrections afterwards), it accidentally manifested as a snake, without artist's intention or awareness. For over a month, colours and effects were added around it. Only once the work was finished and revealed to close friends, the resemblance was pointed out to the stunned artist.
To further amplify this coincidence, the final result is reminiscent of the ancient Ouroboros symbol, showing a circular snake eating its own tail (as a symbol of life and death). Yet in this case, the snake is no longer eating its tail. It represents a "wake up" moment in life. The circle has been broken and transcended into something completely new.
The art work aims to remind a viewer about magic in life, illustrating it with a true story of synchronicity on canvas.
Part of 2021 abstraction collection called “Bang”. Due to popular demand, the painting has been made into a series of limited edition prints.
The Sweet Light of Imagination-SOLD
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution”. Albert Einstein
Imagination is in every human being, it is our natural creative power. Every material thing that was created by humans was first imagined.
The inventor of the car imagined it before inventing it.
The designer of the dress imagined it before creating it etc.
It is said that if you can imagine something, you make it into a reality. Nevertheless, in modern society most adults have lost their capacity to get lost in their imagination on a deeper level. Society and school systems teaches people to focus on logic and rationality. The result is that society is being conditioned out of their creative capacity.
The intention behind this art work is to facilitate the opening of viewers imagination and taking them on a journey into a realm where anything is possible. What you see physically can be seen by others but what you imagine within cannot.
The work is an overpainting where the artist worked with initial textures but the final creation took its own course. When viewed up close, beautiful textures and layers are visible. For those who closely enough, they may see a painting within painting. The work can be displayed vertically or horizontally, artist’s signature has been placed at the back to allow for that flexibility.
Part of 2021 abstraction collection called “Bang”.
Flow Dynamics
Over 50 layers of colours are free-flowing on canvas, dancing in a circular, organic shape inspired by the Fibernacci sequence. Created by pouring paint directly on a flat canvas in one decisive motion, charged with intention and emotion. The paint was then moved around by tilting the canvas or by adding free flowing mediums. Each layer has been created in a moment of movement to music, exploring the organic flow of energy as a gateway to creativity, abstraction and genius-self.
“God geometrizes continually”, Plato
The Fibonacci sequence (also known as golden ratio) has captivated mathematicians, artists, designers, and scientists for centuries. It starts like this: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55 and so on forever. Each number is the sum of the two numbers that precede it. It's a simple pattern, but it appears to be a pattern with near magical properties. The proportional growth perfectly describes patterns in everything around us, from atoms to plant, trees, music to stars and galaxies.
In the art world, it can be seen in artworks of Leonardo Da Vinci, Salvador Dali and Hokusai.
The artwork was created to connect the viewer to ‘a realm of imagination and inspiration’. In today’s modern world, people can easily lose or disconnect themselves from their own light, balance or purpose. This artwork aims to open the door to a deeper feeling of being in the flow of life, symbolised by the Fibonacci flow of colours on canvas.
The artwork consists of 4 canvases which can be displayed and assimilated in any way the buyer would like. To allow for this flexibility, the artist has purposely placed her signature at the back of each canvas. The first painting from 2022 Collection “Breakthrough”