Mila Chyżawska

Biography of the artist: Mila Chyżawska




Learn more about the artist and her inspirations. Read our interview on Substack. [READ THE INTERVIEW]

Born in 1986 in Bila Tserkva (Ukraine). Since 2014, she has lived and worked in Poland.

In 2023, she completed her studies at the Faculty of Painting of the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk with the degree of Master of Arts. Her diploma thesis was supervised by Maciej Świeszewski, while the artistic supervision of the annex was provided by Prof. Maria Targońska.

She lives in Gdańsk, where she works artistically and carries out projects in the Tri-City area (Gdańsk–Gdynia–Sopot). She twice received the Cultural Scholarship of the City of Gdańsk for the projects “Słoneczniki” and “Ludzie morza”. She is also the author of murals in Gdańsk.

In her practice, she consistently develops her painterly technique and seeks new means of expression.

Artistic vision

Her choice of the sunflower motif is closely connected to her personal bond with Ukraine. She grew up in a rural environment, in close proximity to nature and sunflower fields. The experience of working outdoors shaped her sensitivity to rhythm, light, and the organic structure of plant forms.

In recent years, she has consistently devoted herself to the motif of grasses and sunflowers, focusing on their formal and chromatic diversity.

In the context of the war in Ukraine, the sunflower takes on an additional symbolic dimension. Since 2014, it has functioned not only as an element of the landscape, but also as a sign of identity, memory, resistance, and determination.

Selected solo exhibitions

• 2025 – “Linia zmiany czasu” (Line of Time Change), Gallery -1, Warsaw
• 2025 – “W polu słoneczników” (In the Sunflower Field), University Library Gdańsk
• 2025 – “Poezja dwóch umysłów” (Poetry of Two Minds), Hotel Mercure Gdańsk Old Town
• 2024 – “Proste zadania” (Simple Tasks), Café ToMy, Gdańsk
• 2024 – “Słoneczniki” (Sunflowers), One Piece Gallery, Great Armoury, Gdańsk
• 2023 – “Ludzie morza” (People of the Sea), Galeria Punkt (Point Gallery), Gdańsk
• 2023 – “Słoneczniki” (Sunflowers), Restaurant Progres, Gdańsk
• 2022 – “Poza miastem” (Outside the City), Art Is My Weapon, Gdańsk
• 2018–2021 – Street presentation during the Dominican Fair, Gdańsk
• 2017 – Museum of Kashubian-Pomeranian Literature and Music, Wejherowo
• 2016 – Palast Gallery, Berlin

Selected group exhibitions

• 2025 – “Open Cliff Winter 2025”, Wine and Winemaking Museum, Mechelinki
• 2023 – “Młode Malarstwo z Gdańska. Dyplome 2022–2023” (Young Painting from Gdańsk), Academy of Fine Arts, Gdańsk
• 2023 – Art fair, Praga Center Koneser – Butelkownia, Warsaw
• 2023 – “Nieuchwytni” (The Elusive Ones), Pinakoteka Design
• 2022 – “Art’em All 2”, Academy of Fine Arts, Gdańsk
• 2022 – “311”, Point Gallery, Gdańsk
• 2022 – “Między kolorem a figuracją” (Between Color and Figuration), MBWA Gallery, Leszno
• 2021 – “Przegryz 3”, Academy of Fine Arts, Gdańsk
• 2021 – Plein air “Morskie refleksje i aktywność ludzi morza” (Sea Reflections and the Activity of People of the Sea), Cultural Center Filharmonia Kaszubska, Wejherowo
• 2021 – Rozstaje 2021, Gorajec
• 2019 – “Przegryz 2”, Academy of Fine Arts, Gdańsk
• 2019 – “Ile obrazów zmieści się w windzie” (How Many Paintings Fit in an Elevator), Gdańsk Archipelago of Culture WINDA
• 2019 – “Młoda sztuka: Film i plakat” (Young Art: Film and Poster), GCF Gallery
• 2019 – “Wodowanie sztuk / Graficzna Fontanna Heweliusza” (Launching the Arts / Graphic Hewelius Fountain), Gdańsk
• 2017 – Mural “Ściana chwały Feliksa Stamma” (Feliks Stamm Wall of Fame), Olympic Preparation Center Cetniewo
• 2016 – Mural and relief works, Aquapark Reda