Hanna Zawa-Ciwinska (b. 1939) "Gate to Haven," 1989 Acrylic, own technique/canvas, 76 x 101 cm Signed inside the compositionwith the artists monogram: 'HZ& == sync, corrected by elderman == @elder_man ID: 104273 Taxes and fees - In addition to the hammer price, the successful bidder agrees to pay us a buyer's premium on the hammer prices of each lot sold. On all lots we charge 20 % of the hammer price. - To this lot we apply 'artist&s owe right' (&#xx27;droit de suite&#xi27;) fee. Royalties are calculated using a sliding scale of percentage of the hammer price. Condition report work not framed More information We came to the United States with only $150, so it's no wonder that our tiny apartment was empty and a folding tourist table reigned in it. I couldn't even dream of getting a job as a journalist, we had no money to buy books, and when my son went to school, I was alone in an empty house and had nothing to do. So I started painting. The image needed imagination, just like the word, so it seemed close to me, especially since I always liked to draw and paint. Hanna Zawa-Cywińska THE DUALITY OF THE WORLD IN SENSUAL CHALLENGES The artist began her career as a mature woman. She then moved to New York with her husband, Józef Cywiński. Back then, it wasn't easy to go to the States. Józef Cywiński was a high-end scientist who, when working on the Sorbonne, built the first apparatus for transmitting intercontinental computer medical data. This huge achievement resulted in Cywiński receiving an invitation from the University of Pennsylvania at the end of 1967. He continued his research in the United States in the field of cardiology, which brought fame in this field. He was associated with Harvard Medical School in Boston for 12 years, where he headed the Department of Medical Electronics. The 20 - year period was completed by over a hundred publications and two books in the field of medical instruments. During that time his wife Hanna Zawa-Cywińska studied further courses and discovered her artistic passion. The first works were created in the early 1980s. These were compositions built from colored cables stretched on colorful backgrounds. After a while, she decided to focus on the graphics she was happy to present on the international scene. In her works, both paintings and graphics, she was more than willing to deal with the issue of the collision of two separate worlds. Wiesław Banach wrote: "This reminiscent of Hanna Zawa and critics' balance between the power of order and disorder has become the warp of her entire work. From thoughts, feelings, subconscious reactions spread at these two poles are created all the creative energy. (Wiesław Banach, Creativity, [in:] Hanna Zawa-Cywińska. Catalogue of collections, Sanok 2008, p. 56). Although the artist's art is filled with emotions and various symbols, it represents the current of geometric abstraction. Zawa-Ciwińska pays much attention to the purely sensual qualities of her work. Insanely important for her are both the colors and texture of the materials used. They are often very original. Hanna Zawy-Cywińska's art expresses the duality of the world with insight. Using the language of abstraction, the artist illustrates the contradictions present in human existence: the conflict between spontaneity and discipline, between freedom and order. Her work is a unique lesson in humanism. Leaves a wide scope for interpretation. Perhaps her unusual approach to art and dialogue with the recipients of her works results from her cross-cutting education. She studied at the Faculty of Journalism in Warsaw, after moving to the United States, she began studying advertising at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City and graphics at the State University of New York, where she obtained a diploma in advertising in 1981. She has been performing individually and at many collective shows in the United States, Japan and Brazil since 1983. In 1987 she had her first exhibition in Warsaw. In 1991, she took part in the exhibition "We're in the capital. Unfortunately, later there was a long absence of the artist in Polish artistic life. It was related to the artist's next move. She's lived in Switzerland for a decade since 1994. The work on the grateful title of Gate to Haven (Gate to Heaven) presented during the auction gives a wide scope for interpretation. There is a black background behind the gate, which probably symbolizes the great unknown. The work intrigues and prompts viewers to reflect on human being.