Zuzanna Salamon
Zuzanna is a Fine Art artist currently based in Edinburgh. She graduated from Painting at Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen, Scotland in 2020. Born in Katowice, Poland, she finished her secondary and high school education at the High School of Fine Art with a specialisation in Silversmithing and a diploma in Painting and History of Art. Between January and June 2019, she was studying at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague. She exhibited in many international group exhibitions including the Royal Academy of Arts, the Royal Society of British Artists, the New English Art Club in Mall Galleries, and the Royal Scottish Academy Annual exhibitions. In June 2020 she was awarded the Royal Scottish Academy John Kinross Scholarship which allowed her to go on a research trip to Florence, Italy. In 2021 she was awarded the Hermione Hammond Drawing Award and in 2024 she was awarded The Laszlo Medal for Excellence. Zuzanna’s works can be found in private collections in Poland, Germany, Hong Kong, England, Scotland, Italy, the Czech Republic, Iceland, and the USA.
‘My studio practice focuses on the relationship between light and shadow, and how it can reveal the hidden poetry residing within the human form and nature. The reality of my work falls between the real and imaginary world and fuses elements from both. This creates a poetic sensibility that often feels dreamlike. The subject of my work organically originates from experiences available to every human – who we are, how we love and suffer, how we miss and how we hope. Dramatic lighting, present silence, and lack of movement dominate in my drawings, giving the impression of moments frozen in time. Through this, I try to create storytelling that attempts to connect with the viewer on an emotional level.
My work has a personal and diary character – in this sense, they are also a story about my life, fears and desires. Therefore, the details and symbolism that I use in my work are guided mostly by feeling and intuition. They are often based on my own experience of longing for a homeland and Slavic culture, which consists of rituals involving worshiping the elemental grandeur of nature.
Because of its immediacy, mark-making, and tonality, charcoal is currently my primary medium. Charcoal allows me to deeply participate in the drawing process, using my hands directly on the surface to smudge and form shapes and therefore, get involved with the subject on a very practical and personal level.’
Education
2020- 2023 WSB Merito University, BA in Business Management
2016 – 2020 Robert Gordon University- Gray’s School of Art, First-class honours Painting BA (Hons); Aberdeen, United Kingdom.
2019- Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, Painting Studio of Marek Meduna and Petr Dub
Awards
Winner of The de Laszlo Foundation Prize Medal for Excellence at The Royal Society of British Artists 201st Exhibition 2024; Mall Galleries, London, UK
The Royal Scottish Academy Latimer Award 2023 for meritorious work in the RSA Annual Exhibition
de Laszo Foundation Prize Highly Commended March 2023 at The Royal Society of British Artists Bicentennial Exhibition 2023; Mall Galleries, London, UK
Karin Walker Young Artist Award during Society of Women Artists Annual Exhibition; 6th -11t September; Mall Galleries, London, Uk. Selected Group Show
The Donald Ritchie Prize for Emerging Artist at Aberdeen Artists Society Annual Exhibition 2022
de Laszo Foundation Prize Highly Commended April 2022 at The Royal Society of British Artists Annual Exhibition 2022; Mall Galleries, London, UK
The John Lynn Commemorative Award at The Royal Society of British Artists Annual Exhibition 2022; Mall Galleries, London, UK.
The Hermione Hammond Drawing Award at the New English Art Club Annual Exhibition 2021, June 2021, Mall Galleries, London, UK.
The Velvet Easel Gallery Award; June 2021, Paisley Art Institute
de Laszo Foundation Prize Highly Commended April 2021, Mall Galleries, London.
The Royal Scottish Academy John Kinross scholarship 2020
BP Fine Art Distinction Award, Gray’s Degree Show 2020; July 2020
Scottish Artists’ Benevolent Association Award; Royal Scottish Academy annual exhibition 2020
2nd Prize BGF & EY Painting Exhibition; November 9th- 16th.Gray’s School of Art, Aberdeen, UK; Selected Group show
5th place in the II stage of the Nationwide review of drawings, paintings, and sculptures. January 2015; Katowice, Poland. Selected Group Show
One of the 3 representatives of ZSP Katowice that won the Nationwide review of drawings, paintings, and sculptures in the macro southwest region; in January 2015. Katowice, Poland
3rd Prize in XVII Przeglad Sztuki Nieprofesjonalnej, November 2015; Centrum Kultury Ślaskiej; Świętochłowice, Poland; Selected Group show.
Honorable Prize in 16th International Drawing Festival Zabrze; October 2013; Centrum Kultury Katowice; Selected group show.
Selected Exhibitions
2024
Classical Roots, Beaux Arts Bath
198th Royal Scottish Academy Annual Exhibition 2024
Winner of The de Laszlo Foundation Prize Medal for Excellence at The Royal Society of British Artists 201st Exhibition 2024; Mall Galleries, London
The Royal Society of British Artists 201st Exhibition Mall Galleries, London
Creative World, part of Nitram Charcoal, Messe Frankfurt, Germany
2023
The Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition
197th Royal Scottish Academy Annual Exhibition
de Laszo Foundation Prize Highly Commended, The Royal Society of British Artists Bicentennial Exhibition, Mall Galleries, London
The Royal Society of British Artists Bicentennial Exhibition, Mall Galleries, London
2022
The Velvet Easel Winter Exhibition, The Velvet Easel Gallery
Karin Walker Young Artist Award during Society of Women Artists Annual Exhibition, Mall Galleries, London
Society of Women Artists Annual Exhibition, Mall Galleries, London
Winners: Award-Winning Artists, Mall Galleries, London
The Royal Society of British Artists Rising Stars Award, London
196th Royal Scottish Academy Annual Exhibition Edinburgh
The Donald Ritchie Prize for Emerging Artist at Aberdeen Artists Society Annual Exhibition
2021
The Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition
The Hermione Hammond Drawing Award at the New English Art Club Annual Exhibition Mall Galleries, London, UK.
Aberdeen Artists Society Summer Exhibition
The Velvet Easel Gallery Award, Paisley Art Institute
Paisley Art Institute Scottish Drawing Competition, ArtSpace37, Paisley
195th Royal Scottish Academy Annual Exhibition, Edinburgh
The Royal Society of British Artists; 15th April- 24th April, Mall Galleries, London
2020
30×30 Society of Scottish Artists (online edition)
Aberdeen Artists Society; Aberdeen Art FairOnline Show
The Royal Scottish Academy John Kinross scholarship
BP Fine Art Distinction Award, Gray’s Degree Show
Scottish Artists’ Benevolent Association Award; Royal Scottish Academy annual exhibition 2020
194th Royal Scottish Academy Annual Exhibition, Edinburgh
2019
Absolwenci; Centrum Kultury Ślaskiej Zgoda, Świętochłowice, Poland; Selected Group Show
Trouvaille; Gray’s School of Art, Aberdeen, UK; Selected Group Show.
Letní klauzury AVU / Dny otevřených dveří; May 30th- June 2nd. Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, Czech Republic; Selected Group show
2018
2nd Prize BGF & EY Painting Exhibition, Gray’s School of Art, Aberdeen
5 minutes of being lost Artkwarium, Sosnowiec, Poland; Solo exhibition