Artists

Carol Kapuscinsky

Artist Profile

Carol Kapuscinsky is a contemporary landscape painter. Although her paintings use simplified imagery, her painting techniques are very involved. She works mainly with oils on canvas, using a layering technique similar to that used by the old masters. Kapuscinsky applies many thin, transparent layers of paint, which create a rich depth and vibrant glow.

She was born in Peru to Canadian parents, grew up in Winnipeg, and moved to Ontario in her twenties. She graduated with honours from the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto in 1989.

Kapuscinsky will not paint anything she hasn’t seen with her own eyes. Using her skills as an accomplished photographer to document all her subject matter. Before she photographs, she experiences the location and sees the composition. She uses all her senses: she listens to all the sounds and remembers the atmosphere, the ambiance, and the weather—be it warm or cool. She then simplifies the photo to include only the information you need as a spectator.

Her paintings convey a sense of peace and harmony. The prairie and field paintings Kapuscinsky creates reflect her years growing up in Western Canada. Water also plays a large part in the spirit of her work, being born near the ocean and living close to a body of water all her life.

Kapuscinsky is represented in galleries in Montreal, Toronto, and Sainte-Adele. Her most recent solo exhibitions were Where Land Meets Water and Sky and Shades of Yellow at Galerie Blanche in Montreal.

Kapuscinsky lives and works in Ajax, Ontario.

I am inspired by the landscape. I’m especially excited by fields—wild or cultivated—wetlands, coastal waters, streams, rolling hills, and countryside. My husband Guy and I travel a lot, and our trips are usually based on finding subject matter for my work.

When I’m out photographing, I lose all track of time. I see places that excite me, and my heart beats so fast I almost lose my breath. I feel a spiritual tranquilly when I’m there. It nourishes my soul. I find it an enormous responsibility to paint a field, a stream, or a place and do it justice. How can you paint something that takes your breath away? How is it possible to recreate the moment?

Grants/Awards

  • 2004 – Exhibition Assistance Grant, Ontario Arts Council
  • 2003 – Exhibition Assistance Grant, Ontario Arts Council
  • 1999 – Travel Grant, The Canada Council
  • 1998 – Exhibition Assistance Grant, Ontario Arts Council
  • 1996 – Exhibition Assistance Grant, Ontario Arts Council
  • 1995 – Exhibition Assistance Grant, Ontario Arts Council
  • 1993 – CIBC Student Award, Central Parkway Mall Exhibition
  • 1992 – Joan Stacey Award, Oshawa Art Association
  • 1989 – Printmaking Scholarship, Ontario College of Art

 

Collections

  • Represented in major private collections throughout Canada, the United States and Europe

 

Publications

  • 2010 – Shades of Yellow, essay by Margaret-Elizabeth Schell & Foreword by Maura Broadhurst, Exhibition Catalogue,
    Galerie Blanche, Montreal
  • 2008 – Comme une page blanche… by Robert Bernier-Veronique Bergon, Autumn issue, 2008, Vol. 13, No. 3
  • 2007 – Where Land Meets Water and Sky, essay by Maura Broadhurst, Exhibition Catalogue, Galerie Blanche, Montreal
    Moment Magique, by Robert Bernier, Parcours Art & Art de Vivre, Autumn Issue 2007, Vol 13, No.2
  • 2003 – The Tree Project, review by Clarissa M. Lewis,surface and symbol, Scarborough Arts Council publication
  • 2003 – News Advertiser, Durham Region, photo & article, In Praise of Trees, by Christy Chase, Oct. 17
  • 2003 – The Tree Project, review by MariAnne Kazmer. Exhibition Catalogue, The Station Gallery, Whitby, Ontario
  • 2003 – In Quadratum, Exhibition Catalogue, review by Maura Broadhurst
  • 2003 – Parcours, L’Informateur des arts, Autumn Issue, Vol. 8, No. 3
  • 1996 – Life in the Garden, Part II, review by Admira Nezirvec, Exhibition Catalogue, The Station Gallery, Whitby

 

Publications (PDF)