Gosia Łapsa-Malawska

Can you give us an introduction to your background in the art industry, as a curator / artist, as well as your education in Poland and the UK?

I graduated with MA in Lithography from The Faculty of Art Pedagogical University of Cracow and was very lucky to have Jacek Zaborski as my professor and mentor. I always admired him as an artist, so working with him was an honour. He gave me the creative freedom I needed while providing careful guidance. The Muse audience had a chance to see a couple of his works at the Muse in 2016.

For nearly eight years, I ran a bespoke jewellery brand. It was a fantastic experience working in such a small scale and using a completely different range of materials ranging from gold, silver, and amber to cinnamon. As you can imagine, cinnamon is not usually associated with jewellery. It took me years of material research to prepare cinnamon for the prolonged exposure to human skin. I also worked as a freelance graphic designer, including clients like our local RBKC or full-time employment at The Manggha Museum of Japanese Art and Technology (Krakow, Poland). The latter gave me an opportunity to draw from the polish tradition of poster design in my day to day work.

Since 2014 I have been a part of The Muse Gallery Team. I currently divide my time between art practice as a painter, working as a curator at the Muse Gallery, and working as the Creative Director of Purling Ltd.

Can you explain how you maintain a creative balance between art practice and curation?

Maintaining balance is challenging, and prioritising your tasks becomes necessary.

As a rule, I tend to put other work first and reserve my art practice for later, once everything else is done. It’s something I am slowly learning not to do. A healthy bit of selfishness is necessary. I’ve realised I needed to be happy with my art practice to give others my best. I need to be able to explore my own creativity through my art, for my advice to other artists to have any value, and to stay creative in my other roles.

I struggle with one more bit of balance - the curation of the exhibitions I am a part of. When I join both the role of curator and an artist, I tend to show only smaller works and put them in less exposed places. While it is not always good for the project as a whole, at least I don’t have people complaining about the fact that I displayed my works on the main wall as the curator. I guess this part should be balanced as well.

Where do you feel at most “home”, Poland or England?

My home is where my heart is. It will always be divided… People I love and places I love.

As an ex-pat, what were the reasons you left Poland and what initially attracted you to the UK specifically?

A Start-Up I was working on with my husband got an offer of seed funding, start-up incubator support and mentoring from Start-Up Chile. It was like winning a ticket in a lottery. There was one caveat; we had to move to Chile. A combination of sabbatical from ordinary life and bootstrapping ideas made up an excellent eight months. It felt a bit like going to university again.

I left Poland to experience something new in my life, learn new things and meet new people. After closing the Start-Up, we had to decide on our next steps. We both knew we didn’t want to come back to Krakow (at least yet), but we also realised we couldn’t imagine staying in Latin America forever. My husband got contract offers in a few random places like Singapore, Chicago or London. After one year of being far away from my family, Singapore and USA seemed too far away from home. As part of the EU (back then in 2012), London and the UK appeared to be the most sensible decision for us. The fact that the UK was part EU had a notable impact on our decision.

What were the reasons/catalysts that led to your shift from academia in Poland to the professional field in the UK and how?

Life is full of fortunate accidents. By chance, I met Joanna Ciechanowska (director of the Posk Gallery) on the stairs at POSK. A couple of months later, I had my first solo show there. There was a gallery on Portobello Road that fascinated me in 2013. It was always locked when I was passing by. I applied for a residency there, and after long radio silence, they accepted me. I became a Resident at the Muse Gallery :)

How did your experience of moving to the UK influence your creative practices? If any, what Cross-cultural conversations are evident in your work.

What I love about London is its multicultural beauty. I find it fascinating to discover different cultures through the people I meet on my journey.

Which projects have you worked on do you feel were pivotal for your career?

Urban Loneliness – the first project and first solo show at the Muse in 2014. Series was the direct result of moving to the UK, spending the first two years in the new country, trying to find my place, and experiencing a warm, welcoming approach while also experiencing contempt and indifference. At the same time, I was re-learning the language and re-discovering my visual language.

What have been the proudest moments of your career since you moved to the UK?

There are two moments I will always treasure. First is the memory of a visitor who cried after viewing my exhibition. My art stirred up very intense emotions in him. He talked at length about the show, what he saw, and how he felt. It was a powerful, emotional and very intimate experience to see tears in his eyes. Through my art, I managed to reach someone's heart.

The second memory was the experience of being selected for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.

When are you at your most creative?

When I listen to good music. Music is a vital part of my life and a family tradition. I went to a music school, and everyone in my family plays at least one instrument. While I work, music is my only companion in the studio and one of the greatest sources of inspiration. My favourites are countless and somewhat eclectic. They range from Hans Zimmer's soundtracks and classical favourites like Chopin and Debussy to modern composers like Jun Miyake and Josef Van Wissem Max Richter. I also listen to Max Cooper, LTJ Bukem, Aphex Twin, Chemical Brothers, Polish music across the ages, from jazz by Krzysztof Komeda, Leszek Możdżer, Michał Urbaniak to rap by Taco Hemingway. Music drives me through my imagination and sets a specific speed and flow while working. It triggers the best ideas, giving me the space to think. It can tune my brain into a creative stream. When I feel like I have no energy and need some external stimulation for my brain, I turn to music. Over the years, I've realised that my creativity is correlated with fertility and cycle. Recent studies confirmed my observations (K.Galasińska, A.Szymków 2021' Changes in Women's Creative Potential across the Ovulatory Cycle). As an artist, I don't want to be classified as a female artist. However, I am a woman, and as such, my gender does affect my work. During the fertile phase of the menstrual cycle, I am much more creative. The best ideas are coming to me at this time of the month. My brain works differently - and I'm trying to use that time in my studio as much as possible.

What is the next chapter for you?

Who knows….? I hope to have a solo exhibition in Japan someday.

At your core who are you, an artist, a curator or someone (like many) trying to maintain a creative life as a freelancer?

Artist. Whatever I do. I like to use my brain in many ways; while being a curator, or creative director, I explore different parts of my brain. It is not necessarily skills and hours spent with the brush in your hand that make you an artist. It is the way how you see the world around you, how you sense it and later how you communicate it to others using your own language. Not every person holding a brush is an artist. The world is full of talented makers.

What are you looking forward to working on at The Muse this year?

After Covid and recuring lockdowns, we have the 2022 calendar thoroughly planned. While all exhibitions are exciting, I'm particularly looking forward to working on Nicholas Cheeseman's solo show. Nick was an Artist in Residence in 2016. It was the first group I was on the selection committee. It has been a pleasure to watch Nick's professional approach to art, experimenting with different mediums, and being 100% artist.

What advice would you give a 2021 graduate trying to find a footing in the art industry?

Be honest with everything you do as an artist. There are too many art graduates who become ready-made products for Art Fairs. Be honest. Communicate through your art what you truly want to say. Don't try to please the audience for the sake of sale or to be "famous: within a week". Make time to observe the world, and people in it, mindfully.