5lk WALL AND SECRETS: (Mur i Tajemnica): TWO WORLDS steel, linen, cotton, and fine jewelers silver thread 56.5” x 32.5” 93 x 83 cm, 2007 Call

6lk Tunnel of Memory cotton gauze and paper 48" x 126" 1991 Call

Selected permanent collections and exhibition venues: Smart Museum of Art, Chicago, Illinois; Central Museum of Textiles, Lodz, Poland (2nd - 4th, 7th, 7th, International Triennials of Tapestry); Savaria Museum, Szombathely, Hungary (International Biennials of Miniature Textiles); Institutes of Polish Culture, London, England and Paris, France; Helsinki, Finland (Polish Tapestry – traveling exhibition); Kunstlerhaus, Vienna, Austria (Contemporary International Tapestry); Depolma Gallery, Dusseldorf, Germany; Michoakan, Mexico (International Exhibition of Miniature Textiles); Textile Art Center, Chicago, Illinois. Professor: Academy of Fine Arts, Krakow, Poland since 1981. Recipient: Medal, International Triennial of Tapestry, Lodz, Poland; 1st Honorary Distinction; 2nd Prize; Grand Prixes, Tapestry of the Year Competition, Krakow, Poland.

2lk Detail MUR TAJEMNICY IV (MYSTERIES FORTIFIED IV)

Statement: I create art that is mobile and site specific, on the intersection between the disciplines of fiber art, painting, and sculpture. Rather than locking myself within the bounds of any one artistic tradition, I have disregarded such artificial barriers to expression. My aim has been to remain true to my creative will, even when the political situation in my country made it difficult for me to present all of my work publicly in the 1970s and early 1980s. The emotional experiences underlying my work are more important forms of inspiration than the formal visual arrangements I create. In the process of weaving, I am often surprised at the direction my work takes. I continually seek new means to convey my inner vision, often juxtaposing materials, such as steel and fiber, with diametrically different connotations. Fiber art is a form of painting and vice versa; my work collages abstract elements with found objects from my personal history, industrial slabs of steel with meticulously handwoven gobelin tapestries. In my earlier work, I created large figurative forms pulsating from within layers of cold horizontal and vertical lines. These juxtapositions of human shadows, outlines, and a linear geometric format are meditations on the great mysteries of life, among them pain, power, love, and faith. The abstract content of my work cannot be easily explained by the titles of each piece. Indeed, I invite each viewer to search for and find an individual meaning in my work.                                                                      Lilla Kulka

4lk PAIR