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ID: slow-000022-P/190370

Janina Lubojańska - painter

ID: slow-000022-P/190370

Janina Lubojańska - painter

She studied painting, sculpture and drawing at the State Higher School of Visual Arts in Gdansk. She came to Canada in 1959 and taught at the Central Technical School in Toronto. In the early 1960s, the artist settled in London/Ontario, where she became involved in artistic life, presenting her work annually at the Western Ontario Exhibition of Art in London/Ontario. In 1962, Lubojanska showed new works at the Art Museum in London/Ontario.

In 1964, the artist was asked by the Millennium Committee to prepare an exhibition entitled 'A Thousand Years of Christian Poland' in London/Ontario, which featured coins, medals, folk art and Lubojanska's paintings. In 1966, London/Ontario hosted a Polish evening at the International House, which included an exhibition of Lubojańska's paintings alongside various artistic events. The painter's works honoured the celebrations of Canada's centenary prepared by the Polish diaspora, at the YMCA in Toronto.

Lubojańska uses collage, in which the individual elements are chosen with precision and the message becomes clear. In collage, as in painting, the face plays an important role. Expressionistically deformed features, angelic or devilish faces, emerging from the background of a painting or collage, have a strong emotional charge. Sometimes they bring to mind shrouds with the reflected faces of saints, distant and absent, sometimes they show the dark side of human nature in grimaces. Geometric forms, which are given a rhythm of repetition and intensity of colour, are another theme of the artist.

The artist has won awards for her work: for best oil at the Autumn Festival of the Arts in Toronto in 1964, at the same festival in 1966 she was awarded Miss Judy La Marsh's prize and an honourable mention at the 27th London/Ontario Art Exhibition. On the occasion of Canada's 150th anniversary, in November 1984, Lubojanska was among 27 artists presenting their work at Toronto City Hall. The painter is a member of the Western Art League and the Society of Canadian Artists. Her work is in many collections, including: the collection of Judy LaMarsh - Secretary of State, the collection of the London/Ontario Art Museum, and private collections in Canada, Poland, the Czech Republic, and the United States.

Work in catalogue
Janina Lubojańska, 'It goes on and on (It goes on; This is how it goes on)', oil on canvas, signed in the lower right corner [ J. Lubojańska, 1967], 114 x 114 cm, from the collection of Zofia and Florian Śmiej. An emotionally charged painting with a limited range of colour reduced to brown, as if human faces were emerging from the grain of a tree: a male face on the left, two female faces on the right. Burned or carved faces in wood - masks, with distorted, exaggerated features, thoughtful , absent. There is no background or prop to create reality apart from the bold and rhythmic use of lines of bronze in various shades. The painting is an expressionist statement by the artist on the subject of dangerous male-female relationships.

First name:

Janina

Last Name:

Lubojańska

Date of birth:

1934

Place of birth:

Grudziądz

Profession:

painter, artist painter

Bibliography:

  • Jurkszus-Tomaszewska J., „Kronika Pięćdziesięciu lat 1940–1990”, Toronto 1995, s. 92, 103, 105, 107, 111, 113, 121, 135, 137, 159, 240, 310, 314
  • Katarzyna Szrodt, „Polscy artyści plastycy w Kanadzie 1939-1989”, Warszawa 2020
  • A. Wołodkowicz, „Polish Contribution to Arts and Sciencies In Canada”, Montreal 1969, s. 45, 46
  • MacDonald C. S., „A Dictionary of Canadian Artists”, Ottawa 1967-1990, t. 4, s. 921-922
  • A. Pawłowski, „A Polish Way to Canadian Art”, [w:] „A Community in Transition. The Polish Group in Canada”, Can.-Polish Research Inst. Toronto 1985, s. 85, 86

Supplementary bibliography:

"Exhibition of Janina Lubojanska", "Globe and Mail", Toronto, April 1966;
"The Exhibition", The London Free Press, February 1967.

Publication:

28.04.2025

Last updated:

28.04.2025

Author:

Katarzyna Szrodt
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Related projects

1
  • Słownik artystek i artystów polskich w Kanadzie Show