Alicja i Bożena Wahl. Początki

Abstract

Alicja and Bożena Wahl. Origins (Summary)

Twin sisters Alicja (1932–2020) and Bożena (b. 1932) were artists active from the late 1950s, today known particularly known for thei rvivid imagination and unique drawing style. In their famous semi self-portraits, Wahls portrayed female sexuality encased in floral forms and animal costumes with considerable emotional intensity in the gestures and bodies of characters. Despite their erstwhile popularity – they ran the AB Wahl gallery in Warsaw – and extensive archive which includes thousands of works on canvas and paper, numerous newspaper clippings and Alice’s diaries, there is a lack of texts organising factual information or analyses of their artistic language in the literature. In view of the apparent research gap, the purpose of this article is to present facts about the twin artists’ education and their art from an early period, i.e. 1955–1970.