Anubis

It is easy to become confused and frightened, and to see Anubis only as an ill omen, a figure from the hereafter. It’s better to think differently, however, and see in him a Guardian Angel, a watchful and even tender companion, waiting in the shadows, hidden, at the ready.

In a series of paintings featuring Anubis, Joanna Karpowicz has for years been familiarising us with his figure, with the difficult themes of passing, end, and loss. She does it masterfully, incorporating Anubis into successive landscapes and situations, using a whole range of moods, from horror to nostalgia to comedy. Through him, the frames of the paintings complement each other.

Anubis first appeared in Joanna’s painting in 2012. It was simple – the head of a man from a genre scene suddenly transformed into the head of a jackal, and Anubis remained in her works. A motif, a guide. He was an emanation of a personal drama and became the protagonist of a universe. ‘These paintings are personal for me, but it turns out that they are also like that for my clients. People start to open up, some see loss in them, others comfort,’ the artist says.

With the exhibition Anubis by Joanna Karpowicz, we are launching our gallery in its new home, at Bednarska 14. And frankly, we can no longer imagine the gallery walls without these paintings. He is here.