Henryk is the Artist you need to know!
With a background in fashion photography, Sydney-based, Henryk Lobaczewski has created a buzz for himself as a Gen-z approved Artist and Creator. Inspired by color, paint thickness, and stroke texture, his work is characterized by his bright and bold color choices. We talk with Henryk about his early career, new latest art exhibit, and what’s next! See his featured Interview below as well AI designed art he’s created especially for Galore!
Featured Interview:
Hi Henryk! It’s so nice to finally talk with you! How are you? We’ve seen you so busy with your work in both Photography and Art.
Yes, my life is so full right now! So many things I want to do and explore all at once.
Can you tell us a little bit about your latest exhibit “Bold strokes”, how did this come about? What was your inspiration for creating this 19-piece show?
Jardan contacted me and we picked colors that worked with the store and
I went soft with the palette but still created a few signature henryk pieces. I’ve loved Jardan for over a decade so it was the right fit for a solo of this size.
Can you tell us a little bit about Henryk.Studio and what prompted you to create this special space for your work?
During Covid, I needed an outlet to continue creating through and I decided to pick up a paintbrush and explore individualistic art that can hang on a wall, but still be super textured. I felt like people were ready to feel more from wall art and I never wanted to do sculpture so it was a joining of the two that excited me.
We love your collaboration with The Dairy, how cool it is that your supporters can have your art on the go, phone cases are so personal and self-expressive.
Yes, the people at the Dairy are super long-term friends and I love collaborating with them. It’s exciting seeing people walking past with your case designs, and it’s good to have something affordable for people to purchase in terms of art too. That whole case collection was formed through AI.
What’s your favorite case from this collaboration?
Aerosol was my first fav, but then it was a crush, now I have peach on my phone right now. So I’d say peach is the winner for me. It felts like true 3D texture coming out at you but it’s just a printed case. I love that illusion of texture.
What are some of your earliest memories of creating art?
I remember making a drawing of a monster with 4 necks and 4 bodies and then making it 3D out of clay and painting it.. it was cool! I was very young. I used to love drawing then it all
Turned digital with photography and graphic design and that ran my life through chasing regret I thought the money would be, now I’ve gone full circle in a way, back to individualistic art. Non Replicable art.
Can you tell our readers and Gen-z creators what it takes to create an Exhibit? How has that process evolved with you as your studio grows to a wider audience?
I’ve felt the pressure from outside parties impacting my work many times. And my advice is to make sure you are always true to your vision, and your execution. Don’t make art if you are not excited to make art. So now I listen and feel into an alignment, and if it’s right I go deep. For example, with Jardan there were a few colors I wasn’t sure would work, but I trusted the process, and I leaned into it the soft blue is my fav piece in the show.
It was a big show, so we defined the scope, and the colors, and then I started with the biggest hardest pieces first then finished with the easier pieces as the pressure to finalize mount. But I was all done 1 week out. Jardan was amazing to work with.
Do you prefer smaller setting showcases or larger ones?
I always want to constantly do bigger things, things that scare me. 19 pieces was a feat. After only 3 years as an artist, and now I’m working on huge works, I was casting a 1.7m piece the same week we launched Jardan!
We love seeing your work in stores such as Belinda International and the Fouquet New York Hotel – How is the process of creating art for larger spaces versus home-friendly size art, is that process any different? Would this be more of your freestyle work?
The process has shifted. I want to do bigger works, and the solid state (gel on canvas) works are scaleable easily enough but the concrete (ultra-matte series) kind of taps out over the 1.3m mark as they are so heavy. So I’ve started to cast my larger concrete pieces to get the weight down- and now they look the same, but are 70% lighter.
It involves an extra step that’s labor-intensive but the benefit is I can now scale as large as I want to go. While still maintaining that ‘too heavy to be on a wall/defying gravity’ feel that I love about my works. My first 1.7m cast is going to a client in Saudi Arabia.
Switching from Art to Digital Art – How has that been for you? Creating AI Art is so much fun (image messing up and being able to erase and start over), we love the series you’ve allowed us to share, these gorgeous pastel colors look almost real – how was creating this for you?
It was a natural easy extension, I’ve been a fashion photographer for 15 years before my new foray into art. So I could apply my editing skills to AI image creation quite easily. It is so much fun. I think the step that people wanting to do this type of work need to know is: Don’t stop on the 1st image, it might only start looking good 20 prompts into the vein of imagery you start exploring. It’s like anything in life: you only fail when you give up.
We love your Store Front designs, do you ever plan on taking on physical storefronts in the future?
I’d love to be hired to create something IRL in the vein of my AI shopfronts. That would be amazing. I never created them with that intention in mind, I now am just daydreaming.. as once you think about what’s possible the creative bubble can burst. Fluff was never meant to adorn a building! But maybe the resin drip ones! That would be fun.
Your work in Photography speaks for itself, can we expect you back behind the camera soon?
I have been hired to shoot a few campaigns this year with a few large Chinese clients and that’s fun, I welcome it with fresh eyes, J love all creation. I just don’t chase it now.
Do you prefer in the studio or outside when shooting?
I like drawing in my surroundings into my work and shaping images that way, and in a studio if there isn’t a huge prop & styling budget full of options it can be limiting. I like to pivot quickly if something draws my eye and that can happen more organically outdoors on location. Responding to the environment or outfit I’m shooting.
What are some of the self-care tricks you do when working on a difficult piece of art?
You need to be able to push through the hard sticky points on a hard piece. Because most of the time just after that point there is pure gold just waiting for your resilience to push through & find.
Sometimes, a week after or a month after the piece is dry or on a wall you look at it, and you realize why it had to happen that way. You realize the beauty in it, and what it taught you.
But I also normally realize that whatever it was.. it was right for that piece. I allow co-creation to happen within me while creating.
Lastly, what’s some of the best advice can you give to readers wanting to do what you do?
As a creator it’s important to let go of caring about other people’s opinions of you & your work, that’s key. Drop that. Do you. Energy balancing is vital. If you don’t feel right don’t create. It’s a waste. And if you have bad energy within you, go for a walk, or if you have bad energy around you, create somewhere away from it. Your soul needs space to create.
SOCIAL LINKS:
Follow Henryk here
Follow Henryk Studios here
