Joanna Salska, a talented Polish painter and interdisciplinary artist, earned her MFA from the Warsaw Academy of Fine Art. With a passion for political and social issues, her art frequently explores these themes, creating powerful visual narratives. Known for her ability to evoke sustained emotional effects, Salska’s paintings balance multiple narrative tensions, creating a sense of quiet power, emergence, and wisdom in the face of anticipated struggles.
Salska also works under the pseudonym “Uba Owl” and has founded a unique artistic direction called Alterrealism. This interdisciplinary movement connects art and science, aiming to uncover hidden realities in a world increasingly shaped by mass media. Her work, celebrated for its conceptual depth and emotional resonance, has been showcased in prominent galleries, including Foster Goldstrom Fine Arts, Allrich Gallery, PII, and Roszkowska Galleries.
Salska has participated in the Beijing Biennale twice and has her paintings in prestigious collections such as the Beijing Museum, the Pamela Bonino collection, the Yaddo Foundation, the Washington Museum of Women in the Arts, and many private collections globally.
EDUCATION
2017 Enrolled in the PHD program in Studio Art at Warsaw Academy of Fine Art, Warsaw, Poland
M.F.A. in Painting and Graphic Arts, Warsaw Academy of Fine Art, Warsaw, Poland.
Studied with Ludwik Maciag and Tadeusz Dominik.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2018 Galeria Wizytujaca, Warszawa, Poland
2017 Galeria Apteka Sztuki, Warsaw, Poland
Roszkowska Galleries, Hudson, NY
2016 PII Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Mercury 20 Gallery, Oakland, CA
2015 Mercury 20, Oakland, CA
Roszkowska Galleries, Hudson, NY
2014 Mercury 20, Oakland, CA
2013 Studio Quercus, Oakland, CA
2012 PII Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2011 PII Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Hrefna Jonsdottir Gallery, Lambertville, NJ
2009 PII Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2007 Vintage Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
Atelier Studio Gallery, Seattle, WA
2004 Event Gallery, Berkeley, CA
1999 Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley, CA
1992 Corvallis Arts Center, OR
South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD
Grants Pass Museum of Art, Grants Pass, OR
1990 Foster Goldstrom Gallery, New York, NY
Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum, San Jose, CA
Cerro Coso College Art Gallery, Ridgecrest, CA
Sun Gallery, Hayward, CA
John Ash & Co., Santa Rosa, CA
Trojanowska Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1989 The American Institute of Architects, Oakland, CA
1986 Fiberworks Gallery, Berkeley, CA
1985 Richard Hanson Fine Arts, Fresno, CA
1983 Foster Goldstrom Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Columbia University, New York, NY
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2019 1st Annual Art Salon, Berkeley, CA
2018 Roszkowska Galleries, Hudson, NY
2016 Galeria Delfiny, Warsaw, Poland
The Pacific Art League of Palo Alto
Galeria Mila, Krakow, Poland
2015 Surface Gallery, Nottingham, UK
Mercury 20 Gallery, Oakland, CA
Roszkowska Galleries, Hudson, NY
2014 Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley, CA
Mercury 20, collaboration with Michael Snyder, Oakland, CA
2013 Napa Valley Museum, Yountiville, CA
Contra Costa College, San Pablo, CA
2012 Roshkowski Galleries, Hudson, NY
Metropolitan Art, Hopewell, PA
CG Gallery, Princeton, NJ
2011 CG Gallery, Princeton, NJ
2010 4th Beijing Biennale, Beijing, China
PII Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2008 3rd Beijing Biennale, Beijing, China
1992 Foster Goldstrom Gallery, New York, NY
1991 Bedford Gallery, Walnut Creek, CA
1990 Brockman Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1989 Matrix Gallery, Sacramento, CA
1987 Boston Symphony Hall, Boston, Mass
Pro Arts Gallery, Oakland, CA
Second Juried Annual Exhibition
1986 Richard Hanson Fine Arts, Fresno, CA
1985 “Directions in Contemporary Landscape”
Palo Alto Cultural Center, Palo Alto, CA
1984 Downey Museum Downey, CA
RESIDENCIES
Yaddo Foundation. , Saratoga Springs, NY
COLLECTIONS
Beijing National Museum, Beijing, China
Princeton University Library, Princeton, NJ
National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington D.C.
IMCAC, International Museum of Collage, Santa Fe, NM
Southland Corporation, Dallas, TX
Pamela and Joe Bonino, Palm Springs, CA
Daniel and Sarah Goldhagen Collection, New York, NY
Teresa Sladowska Collection, Emeryville, CA
Arthur and Tanya Liscano Collection, Fresno, CA
Ela Strong Collection, Castro Valley, CA
The Dempsey Family Collection
Tom Steffens Collection
Janka nad Paul Krasucki Collection,
Foster Goldstrom Collection, Oakland, CA
Yaddo Foundation Collection, Saratoga Springs, NY
BIBLIOGRAPHY
East Bay Express, Oakland, CA “Joanna Salska” . April 3-10, 2013
Hardy, Quentin. “Joanna Salska: Paintings 2009-2012”. Book.
Hardy, Quentin. “Proloques to a New Myth” . 2011
McNeil, George. Bebo’s Attic, Xavera Editions. 2011. Print
Uzanna Ducka “Alterrealism of Uba Owl, Nowy Dziennik, September 12, 2011
McNeil, George. Alterrealism – a collection by Uba Owl. 2010 . Print
Hardy, Quentin. “A Voice” , 2005
Dunn, Robert “Paintings of Joanna Salska” . 1989.
Fresno Bee, Fresno, CA., October 1986. Print
Jan , Alfred. “Exploring the Landscape”. Artweek July 27, 1985. Print
“Paintings of Joanna Salska”, Nowy Dziennik, April 28, 1983, New York, NY. Print
Nowy Dziennik, September 1982, New York, NY. Print
“Tapestry as Art”, Art Speak, October 16, 1983, New York, NY. Print
“Two Exhibitions” – Zycie Radomskie, November 11, 1980, Radom Poland. Print
“Landscape in Sokolow” – Kurier Polski. April 7, 1977, Warsaw, Poland. Print
VIDEO
Documentary film: interview by Bay area art critic Mark Van Proyen, 25 minutes, 2012
Documentary film: a lecture by New York Times technology writer “The physical artist in the incorporeal world: Joanna Salska paintings”, 13 minutes. 2013
Journalist and UCB Lecturer Quentin Hardy speaking about the paintings of artist Joanna Salska on April 13, 201
