Karolina Wojtas’ (Poland, 1996) work is colourful, imaginative, humorous and has a vaguely sinister nature to it. The artist is inspired by family, memories of her youth, unusual moments and candy. We can’t live – without each other gives an insight into the continuous struggle between brother and sister: a love-hate relationship, sometimes taken to extremes. The series is a close collaboration between the two siblings. Together they stage intense moments of violence and Wojtas produces realistically executed phantom wounds. Her work invites the viewer to participate and discover, where the visitor can feel like a child again. Sometimes combined with dark humour, the exhibition of Wojtas creates a (sur)realistic experience.

In We can’t live – without each other Wojtas gives an intimate view of the complex relationship with her younger brother. Until the age of thirteen, the artist was an only child and she wanted it to keep it that way. When her parents announced that she was going to have a baby brother, she was ready to defend her territory. After twelve years, the battle between the artist and her brother is far from over. The visitor to Wojtas’ work is immersed in a child’s world. The artist does not simply hang her images on a wall; she develops installations that fill an entire space. The photographic image takes on a whole new presence as it is one of many elements that is part of the presentation. Wojtas uses different materials and a multitude of bright colours in her exhibition designs. In this way, the space in Foam becomes a playful environment where visitors are invited to actively participate in the world of Karolina Wojtas.

Karolina Wojtas was born in Jaroslaw, Poland. She studied at the Institute of Creative Photography in the Czech Republic and holds a Masters degree from Film School Lodź, Poland. In 2019, when she was only 22, she won the ING Unseen Talent Award. Most recently she had a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, Poland. Her photography was part of several group presentation such as Noorderlicht International Photo Festival 2020 and reGeneration4 The Challenges of Photography and its Museum at Musée de l’Elysée in Lausanne, Switzerland. Karolina Wojtas is represented by Vasli Souza in Oslo.

The Florentine Riem Vis Grant
Karolina Wojtas is the fifth recipient of the Florentine Riem Vis Grant. Established in memory of Florentine Riem Vis (1959-2016) the grant is yearly awarded to enable emerging artists to further develop their artistic career. The previous recipients were Gilleam Trapenberg (2020), Solène Gün (2019), Rebecca Sampson (2018) and Stefanie Moshammer (2016/17)

This exhibition is made possible by the Van Bijlevelt Foundation and the Leeuwensteinstichting.

Foam is supported by the VriendenLoterij, Foam Members, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, the VandenEnde Foundation and the City of Amsterdam.

In 2021 Foam receives additional support from the Mondriaan Fund and Kickstart Cultuurfonds