"Life in Art: Evolving Search and Experiment" by Emilya Padlowski

Saul Alexander Gallery at Main Library- Come check out October's gallery artist, Emilya Padlowski for her exhibition "Life in Art: Evolving Search and Experiment". Emilya Padlowski is an award-winning artist, interior designer and art historian. She has a multicultural background which manifests itself in her style and her art. Born in Poland, Emilya spent her formative years growing up in Ukraine and Azerbaijan under the careful, ever-present eyes of the Soviet communist government; this gives her a unique knowledge of life and different cultures, and contributes depth to her art.

Trained as a Russian and French Literature and Language instructor in the Azerbaijan College of Languages, she had to adjust her life after immigrating to the United States. Her love for art brought her to the Montclair State University (NJ) where she received her Master’s degrees in Fine Arts and Art History. She also studied design and painting at the International American University and the Marshutz School of Art in Aix-en-Provence, France. She has now dedicated herself to painting and making soft sculptures from recycled materials.

Her soft sculptures, both whimsical and quirky, are based on mythical stories, opera, ballet, classical music and fairytales. Emilya’s paintings have a very personal cast: the marriage of Russian, Azerbaijani and Eastern European cultures. Her art is unpredictable and uniquely attractive. Her paintings sometimes express sadness and despair, while at other times they are bursting with happiness and joyful colors. She calls her art a “symbolic fantasy”, merging art with the natural world. Each painting contains a certain symbolic meaning. Her paintings while contemporary and often non-conformist, are also influenced by classic literature and art.

While visiting South Carolina, she was charmed by the beauty of its nature and found inspiration everywhere: majestic mountains, enchanting forests, flowers and gifts from the garden often became a subject matter for her paintings. After permanently relocating to South Carolina from the NY metropolitan area, she became an actively exhibiting member of the Waccamaw Arts & Crafts Guild, the Charleston Artist Guild and the Seacoast Artist Guild.

Presently she resides in Conway SC with her husband and their little cat Lina