Biography

Maria began painting and drawing as a child. She spent her childhood in Gdansk, beautiful city, port on the Baltic Sea site. That’s why her work concerned the sailors, ships and sea she saw. These themes are seen in her mature works, for example, the large oil paintings on canvas “Three Sailors and a Girl” (1974), “Sailor and his Muse” (1976), “Big Red Ship” (1975) to name a few.

Her formal training began in a special after school program at the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw at the age of ten. Her passion for painting and drawing continued when she as an teenager attended lessons of paintings and drawings in Nowolipki Culture Centrum. Lessons included studying of human figure, in still-life, and multiple techniques. In 1970 she started to studying in Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, graduating in 1975 with a Masters Degree of Fine Arts. At the Academy she studied painting, drawing, sculpture, composition, graphic design, typography, mural techniques, lithography, the history of art, French and Russian.

In her years at the Academy, she studied under such a professors as: Aleksander Kobzdej, Jan Tarasin, Antoni Lyzwanski, Wieslaw Kruczkowski (paintings), Helena Rudzka-Cybisowa, Stanislaw Zoltowski (paintings & drawings), Jan Zemla (sculpture), Jacek Sienicki (architectural design & wall paintings), Jan Owidzki (composition).
Her figurative paintings from 1974 through 1980 were excellent examples of the early Neue Wilde movement that become popular new style in Western Europe. She has also drawn inspiration from the ‘masters’, doing her own versions of “Breakfast on the Grass” by E. Manet; “Sunday On…” by G. Seurat and so forth.

She was also inspired by music and literature, creating a cycle of four paintings based on Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” and a large oil painting inspired by Isaak Babel’s short story “The Letter” named “Budionny” (awarded in international competition in 1974).

Another important stage of her work can be found in her “Modern Girl” series which eventually developed into the “Victory” series such as: “Victory in Green an Orange”, “Victory in Green”, “Victory I” (lithography). The latter were a series of paintings of women without hands, as a symbol of casualties of wars, inspired by ancient sculptures as Nike. She also painted many portraits including: “Portrait of My Mother”, ”Self-Portrait”, and many portraits of her cats such as: “My Cat”, “Red Cat”, “Angel with the Cat”, Girl with the Cat”. In ‘80s she also painted a series of “Ballerinas” as well as a series of “Scenes from Whorehouses” such as: “Ballerinas”, “Dancer”, “Scenes from Whorehouses I, II, III”, “Woman with Transistor Radio”.

In the late 1980’s she moved away from figurative painting and started to use mixed media work utilizing brocade, color powders, varnishes, and other less traditional materials. She painted “Record in Blue” (glitter on record), “Bird” (oil on mirror circle), “Annunciation” (in the mirror frame). Her painting during this period focused on less defined objects like series of Snakes and Fish, Leaves, Orchid as the subjects. Cats, Angels, Oceans and Birds are some of the other subjects that have occupied her. The snakes and fish of the 1980’s became increasingly less literal culminating in purely abstract painting in the 1990’s. During the 90’s she also created a number of paper sculptures named “Pyramids in Blue” and “Pyramids”. Her abstract work are painted in oil, acrylic on canvas and cardboard paper. She is using different shapes of canvases like triangle, oval, mixed media and techniques as well like “Yellow Record” (oild on the vinyl record).

While her painting continues to explore abstraction, Ms. Sochaniewicz continued her figurative work as well. Her last figurative paintings were completed in the early 90’s: “Woman with Cigarette” (self-portrait), “Curtain”, “Portrait of My Sister”, “Lion’s Family”, “Yellow Rose”, “Big Cat” and “Ocean I, II, III”.

All of her work evinces a strong and individual use of color as well as a very personal style that is evident in all of her work - figurative as well as abstract. By the early 1990’s, she had become a purely abstract painter - though her figurative background is still evident in her drawings. Recently she has completed a number of series: “Blue Stains”, and “Red Stains”, painted on canvas; "Stains Down” and “Circles” painted on cardboard, her favorite material.

From late 70’s she has contributed illustrations to books, magazines and newspapers, including “11211 Magazine” published in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, “Foyer”, Theater Magazine, “Jazz” Magazine, “Rzeczpospolita” Daily Newspaper, and “Razem”, Warsaw, Poland.

Her drawings are inspired by specific subject. Her drawings includes a series of sketches “On the Beach” and illustrations for “Magic Book”, published in 2001.

Also photography is an area of interest.

Maria Sochaniewicz came to the United States in 1989. She lives in New York.

She was member of SOHO20 Gallery for four years, where she had two solo exhibitions and she took a part in gallery’s member group exhibitions. Maria Sochaniewicz is also a member of Union of Polish Artists, (member from 1975), Poland.

Maria Sochaniewicz has had over 15 solo exhibitions and has exhibited her work in several group shows in New York, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Mexico City, Berlin, Hamburg, Prague, Budapest and Warsaw.

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