Karol Kochanowski

Karol Kochanowski is a Polish-born contemporary oil painter based at Rogue Artists Studios in Manchester, UK. Moving to the UK over twenty years ago, his practice is informed by a dual cultural perspective and his lived experience of navigating a neurodivergent mind. He views the canvas as a space to find structure within a chaotic internal landscape, using the intuitive process of oil painting to translate the fragmented layers of the psyche into a visual mythology.

Spanning figuration, self-portraiture, and allegorical landscapes derived from subconscious architecture, Kochanowski’s work operates at the intersection of personal psychology, collective myth, and universal spirituality. Drawing from Jungian theory, historical texts, and the resonance of sacred spaces, his paintings construct symbolic worlds where contemporary isolation and metaphysical seeking collide.

Following a solo exhibition at HOME Manchester in 2021 as winner of the Manchester Open Award, his practice has focused on exploring the boundaries of contemporary figuration. Through distorted portraits and psychologically charged environments, he examines the tension between the inner self and the external persona. Kochanowski treats the elements within his canvas...

2013 BA (Hons) Fine Art, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK

2010 Edexcel Level 3 BTEC Foundation Diploma in Art and Design, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK

2005 Freehand Drawing Course, University of Technology, Lublin, Poland

2026
Whitaker Open - Whitaker Museum & Art Gallery, Rawtenstall, UK
Proceed With Caution - Rogue Project Space, Manchester, UK
Manchester Open - HOME, Manchester, UK
Fuzzy Memory - Hanover Project Space, Preston, UK
2025
Curatorially Almost… - Rogue Platform, Manchester, UK
Déjà Vu - Rogue Platform, Manchester, UK
2024
shapes and cat shapes - solo exhibition, The Art of Tea, Manchester, UK
Friends of Dorothy x Refuge - The Refuge, Manchester, UK
KUNSTLICKER - Mirgage/Islington Mill, Manchester, UK
Shuffle - Tobacco Warehouse, Liverpool, UK
2021
patience.HEADSPACE.resilience - solo exhibition, HOME, Manchester, UK
2020
Manchester Open - HOME, Manchester, UK
2019
ORNAMENTIKA (Manifest) - Fred Aldous, Manchester, UK
PAINT (Manifest) - PS Mirabel, Manchester, UK
Spotlight (Manifest) - Saul Hay Gallery, Manchester, UK
Greater Manchester Art Prize 2019 - Bolton Museum & Art Gallery, Bolton, UK
Europia Art Collective Launch Exhibition - Old Bank Residency, Manchester, UK
2018
Bankley Open Call - Bankley Studios & Gallery, Manchester, UK
Air Open - Air Gallery, Altrincham, UK
The Art of Volunteering - Whitworth Gallery, Manchester, UK
2017
Anniversary - Saul Hay Gallery, Manchester, UK
Abstractionism : An Abstract Art Exhibit...