BETWEEN THEIR EYES
ARTICLE & INTERVIEW series:
A journey beyond the canvas, weaving human and collaborative stories.

Inga Wójcik:
Coding a language of Color and Sound

Inga Wójcik’s artwork doesn’t stop at the canvas; it spills into music, visual language, and memory. With a mathematician father, she grew up surrounded by codes and structures, and this influence is reflected in her art.  Her work iconically transcends the confines of size and canvas. Frequently employs shades of limited color tones, complemented by fluid brushstrokes and lines that flow freely across walls and boundaries. Instead of telling stories directly, she invents her own symbols, arranging them like notes on a score. Her paintings can be read left to right, like music. She used to present her art with sound, which developed together with musicians who translate her brushstrokes into voices, rhythms, and noise.

Inga’s inspiration path began with graphic design and graffiti, an attempt to escape the distance of the white cube, always pushing herself out of her comfort zone. Later in Leipzig, she met Karlotta, whose presence left a lasting mark on her practice. Talking about Karlotta and her art, Inga shared that she considers them to be rooted in hyper-realistic portraits, the kind of work that demands patience, discipline, and the courage to confront intimacy head-on. For Inga, this approach felt both fascinating and terrifying. Modeling for Karlotta was also deeply challenging. Standing still while a close friend observed every detail of her face and body. She felt nervous and tense, but it was also made by her dearest friend in a loving environment. Their differences became a dialogue: Karlotta’s steadiness and focus balanced Inga’s unconstrainedness and chaos, while Inga’s spontaneity and restless energy unsettled and inspired in return. Together they built not just a friendship but a creative counterpoint, a reminder that art can grow through contrast as much as through similarity.

Back in Warsaw, Inga stripped her palette down to three colors, brown, pink, and pale paper tones, each carrying emotional or historical weight. Brown recalls old manuscripts and transcriptions; the light paper tones suggest fragility and memory, while pink channels sadness and intensity. Now working full-time as a painter and exhibiting internationally, from Warsaw to Vienna and Shanghai, Inga continues to build a personal language where painting, music, and story overlap. Her works remain open, coded systems that invite viewers not only to look but also to listen, to step closer, and find their own way of reading.

INTERVIEW
KÜSSE Berlin
Your artistic approach to code language and your conceptual vocabulary in paintings is profoundly distinctive, blending the sensory experiences of sight and sound. How did this creative idea originate?

Inga Wójcik:
I always wanted people to come closer and directly see what it is like inside my painting or what the painting could be about, and I thought about going outside the painting. When I was in Leipzig, I first began working with systems. By systems, I mean structures that already exist in the world. For me, trying to explain how I perceive things felt too complicated to put into a single language. So instead, I borrowed from systems like music scores or mathematics. In my practice, I started inventing my own symbols. I wasn’t always brave enough to tell my stories directly, so I transformed them into symbols, arranging them like notes on a staff. This gave me a structure: paintings that could be “read” left to right, like sheet music, with five guiding lines. Music became part of this process. I realized that when a painting is also a score, it gives the viewer an entry point: you don’t have to know the story, but you can follow the rhythm. I began working with two friends, a singer and a producer. Most of the time, they come to my studio, and we sit together while I explain what I think about a painting, or what it might be about (...) When people speak to me, I don’t always hear words or form images in my head. Instead, I see strange constructions. That’s why my paintings end up very structured, with straight lines mixed with more freehand ones. Now, when my work is shown, there is often a speaker behind the canvas: you step closer, you see the painting, and you also hear it.

KÜSSE Berlin
In the process of translating visual art into sound-based creations, how do you collaborate with your cross-disciplinary artist friends?

Inga Wójcik:
All the paintings are already connected to music, because I’m working with my own band. I’ve always been fascinated by music, but I never did anything directly related to it. For me, it’s more like an abstract way of thinking. I can hear the music straight from my painting, but I cannot actually compose it. Then, by surprise, I found two of my friends, one a singer and the other a music producer. We started talking, and they said that they can also hear the music. So we began putting sound into my paintings. Now, there is always a speaker behind the work, so you can come closer, see the painting, and also listen to it.

Most of the time, they come to my studio, and we sit together while I explain what my idea is about the painting, or what the painting is about. For example, I tell them if there is a dark point in the painting, that should become a heavier moment in sound. A light, blurry area might be turned into ambient noise. Bells, the rustling of trees, or the sound of scrubbing can all be part of it. We mix everything together. My friend, who is a singer, sometimes reads imaginary text-words that don’t exist but sound like they could. We record them with different effects, repeating the sounds until they turn into a kind of noise. It doesn’t carry meaning, but it exists, directed back at the painting. That’s how this collaboration works.

KÜSSE Berlin
Your palette seems very focused and symbolic. Ｗhy do you choose these particular colors, and how do they connect to your emotions or stories in the paintings?

Inga Wójcik:
I love to tell stories, sometimes mix reality and fiction, and I always need that dopamine and high emotion. I feel this is also how my paintings have changed. I had gone to Leipzig planning to study graphic design, but there I rediscovered painting and fell in love with it. Back home, I wanted to reinvent myself. Chaos was still everywhere around me, but I became braver and finally found the colors I liked. The technique I always wanted was painting, not just mixing colors, but creating something more precise. Now I use basically three colors. Brown, because I often talk about language and translation, putting the system into my own words. So when you have these old manuscripts, they’re all in this light brown color, like light paper. I thought that this color could visually explain why I'm using it. And pink comes from sadness and frustration, because I never paint when I’m happy. And the pale tones suggest fragility and memory. Painting lets me explore myself, to be different. But I still struggle with stability. I always feel the need to move, to change. It still feels unreal. I was able to quit my job and start painting full-time. Now, I even have exhibitions in places like Kyoto.

KÜSSE Berlin
How did your stay in Leipzig and your friendship with Karlotta shape your respective creative journeys?

Inga Wójcik:
I stayed in Leipzig for a year, and I decided to extend my time. I arrived in winter and ended up staying the whole year. In the end, Karlotta and I also did an exhibition together, because we wanted to see how our paintings might look side by side, with our different worlds. We often used similar colors, so there was always something that visually connected the works. Karlotta always wanted something stable, and around her, I felt very safe. I think that’s why we were such a good match. Leipzig was the beginning of that freedom: the first time I felt I could do whatever I wanted, in a new city, discovering myself. Stability still scares me; I always need to move, to change, but back then, Karlotta gave me that sense of safety I didn’t have on my own. Maybe that’s why we matched so well.