Agnieszka Duchnicz

You describe yourself as being in between worlds – still a student, but already stepping into adulthood. How does this “in-between” state influence your artistic thinking and visual language?

Okay that’s a really interesting approach to my situation, I think that it allows me to experiment with mediums and different artistic styles. I still haven’t really decided what I like about art the most. I love this state in which I am able to explore everything that inspires me. On the other hand “being in between” also brings some kind of instability and uncertainty, and that’s why sometimes my art might seem isolated and darker than I intended it to be.

Your works often feel like fragments of thoughts, dreams, or internal dialogues. Do you see your art as a form of self-conversation or self-discovery?

I always think that my art need to communicate something to the world either if that’s emotion or a thought. But when I look at it from a broader perspective and after some time has passed, I definitely see some of my quirks and qualities in it that I’m not always aware of. So it really depends if my art is “freshly” made yesterday or a month or a year ago. If I had to choose one I would probably choose self-conversation that lasts a really long time.

Agnieszka Duchnicz | Listening To The Universe | 2025

Many of your pieces combine collage, illustration, and graphic elements. What attracts you to mixing different mediums instead of focusing on just one?

I love creating, actually I don’t really have a favorite medium. As long as I can just do something with my hands, I feel like a whole. Also many artists from different cultures and countries inspire me at the same time, so I’m quite a mix of them all. I really admire polish XX century artist, from art deco to modern and also I like the Pre-Raphaelites ,and Middle Ages manuscripts artists with their sometimes very funny depictions of animals and people. So for now i’m trying to find my niche and while doing that, I try to have a lot of creative fun.

Agnieszka Duchnicz | Scrolling The Night Away | 2025

Silence, observation, and inner focus seem to play an important role in your imagery. What does silence mean to you as an artist?

Silence is something I really admire, because it’s the state that makes daydreaming and inner dialogue possible. I often use my imagination to create most of the portraits and graphics- I feel quite uncomfortable when drawing something from a reference. Also the state of silence is crucial to me when I need to reevaluate my art and my current state of being. To find some silence i often meditate and love to go for a run in a park. In this times when everyone is trying to sell and show you something it’s important that, I have the ability to look inward.

Technology, screens, and modern symbols appear in your work alongside very human emotions. How do you see the relationship between the digital world and inner life?

I am an observer to this world, and I try to take inspiration from modern life. We are no longer living like we did 15 years ago and digital world forms our opinions, gives us ideas and the ability to make our lives as convenient as they could be. Most of the time this relationship between our smartphones and inner self is balancing on being harmless and pretty dangerous, for example to our ability to think and our self-esteem. For artists is especially hard because we often see our followers as a confirmation of our artistic success, most of us in that situations aren’t thinking about the very first reasons why we started creating. That’s why is very important to take a step back and reflect on the constant stream of content that we see online.

Agnieszka Duchnicz | Slavic Ink Demon | 2024

Some of your characters look isolated, absorbed, or deeply inward. Are these figures reflections of yourself, or are they more universal portraits?

I’m not making it consciously, although after receiving this question I started to wonder if that’s how I feel recently. In first question you said that I am in this “in-between” state, maybe this is the answer to my art looking this way. Being in your early twenties might be really exhausting and for me it is! I have a lot of new situations to process, decisions to make so it’s sometimes easier to hide for a little bit and look inside at my introverted soul and childhood memories. I hope that more people feel like me and could relate to my art because of that. In this pretty busy world this is my way to cope and express myself.

Agnieszka Duchnicz | Tale Of Visions | 2025

How intuitive is your creative process? Do you plan your compositions carefully, or do you allow them to evolve spontaneously?

I often do what my heart tells me, sometimes it’s an idea that can’t wait- in that situation I grab my notebook and do a fast sketch there to remember about this in the evening when I usually have more time. On much rarer occasions I plan my compositions and colors that I am going to use- this works often takes me a lot longer to complete, because the first emotion about that artwork has changed or completely vanished. That’s why I like simple characters and backgrounds, they often makes a great canvases to put current feeling or thoughts.