Joanna Latka

Joanna Latka, known to friends as Asia, came from Eastern block Poland with a big bag. In it is her MA in Fine Art, Chinese ink, her self styled techn...iques in etching and drawing, exhibitions from past to present, and a stack of illustrations. They are inspired biographically, from places and faces wherever that bag has taken her. Currently, they are residing in Lisbon, Portugal, where in a short space of time she has picked up the lingo and has been not only accepted, but embraced, in the Lisbon art scene. When Publico (one of the most revered newspapers in Portugal) got wind of her, they dedicated half a page to her and her work. It is not fame over night, she has been doing this for years, always drawing, always learning. She has recently been attending the Gulbenkian Foundation, and is furthering her MA at the Fine Art (Belas Artes) Institute in Lisbon. On the scene she scouts spaces to show her work. She wants exposure to the whole spectrum of society who she feels can appreciate her, and so far her exhibitions have taken on both the underground art bubble, notably in illustration, and new and hip galleries where she is now selling. It was a wonderful compliment to her, when at a recent exhibition, one of her fellow students, still studying in his nineties, bought a piece by her. It transpired that this old man has been illustrating for generations, and only later did Joanna find out that he has his own gallery where he is going to put it.
Joanna’s work is biographical. Within her world is humour in the sinister, for example, three evillooking women gobbling and gossiping in mouths full of sushi. There are ladies at the theatre who spend more time looking at themselves in pocket mirrors than at the stage. There is companionship, love and falling down buildings. There are bleak times in her choices of colour, sometimes dark, but there is always optimism. (...)
Underneath the art lies Joanna’s sensitivity and selflessness. Her work comes from her, without ego, it is the work of heart on her rolled, up sleeves. She has a purpose to illustrate her world. The story begins with a young woman from Poland.
Rob Plews Show more