Paulina Ganych

Acrylic Painter, b. 2004-presentFor commissions and business inquiries in the Connecticut area, you may email me through:
[email protected]

About

Paulina Ganych is a Connecticut based artist primarily specializing in creating surreal acrylic paintings. Ganych’s journey in fine art began while attending the University of Hartford, majoring in painting and minoring in psychology. Their work has been featured in the Goldfarb Juried Exhibition of 2024, 2025, and 2026, which has given them experience in being part of a gallery setting on campus. Ganych's senior thesis explored contemporary, human struggle through animal-human hybrids, where their series was displayed during the BFA printmaking and painting exhibition Entropy. As Ganych works towards a career in art therapy, they spend time engaging in various artistic communities as an emerging painter. Their passion with painting involves working fast on large surfaces and collaborating in mural projects, while additionally enjoying creating ink prints and digital illustrations on the side.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I am an acrylic painter that creates surrealist works with therianthropic figures as my primary subjects. These animal-human hybrids are set in various situations that are open-ended. I create an engaging environment by sharing a narrative through each of my paintings, and letting the audience have their own interpretations. Aside from painting therianthropic figures, I also enjoy creating full human figures, portraits, mythological creatures, and experimental art. These paintings tend to be crafted on large canvases that are completed in at least under a day, where quality under a short amount of time is emphasized and prioritized.While creating my BFA senior thesis, I instead incorporated symbolic meaning through animals. Specifically, how animal symbolism correlates with human experiences, I attempt to shed light on the unfortunate reality that some individuals experience in life. Diving into heavy, taboo, realistic topics are conveyed by the correlated animals that symbolize the vulnerability of these experiences, as these therianthropic figures still show a bit of sincerity with their animal heads and human bodies. Rabbits symbolizing fertility, now punished by not allowing abortion; and deer symbolizing innocence, which gets taken away by the domestic abuse it grows up with. These are just a few examples of what my series entails, where I attempt to create a psychological connection between the viewer and I. Not only does it help to incorporate my experiences into this series, but I additionally branch out and shed light to other experiences that people may face, as I believe it is selfless to portray every human experience that isn’t just my own. A singular painting of mine may not connect with everybody, however having multiple different paintings may find someone who feels understood. Connections like these help bring people together, and remind us of our humanity.

Curriculum Vitae

EducationUniversity of Hartford || BFA in studio art, minor in psychology, 2026Exhibitions & Miscellaneous Art Displays
Artistonish Issue #70 || Contemporary Art Magazine, 2026
Exodus || Hartford Artspace Gallery, Hartford, CT, 2026
CT+6 || West Hartford Art League, West Hartford, CT, 2026
Entropy || Silpe Gallery, West Hartford, CT, 2026
Alexander A. Goldfarb Juried Student Exhibition || Joseloff Gallery, West Hartford, CT, 2026
Alexander A. Goldfarb Juried Student Exhibition || Joseloff Gallery, West Hartford, CT, 2025
Alexander A. Goldfarb Juried Student Exhibition || Joseloff Gallery, West Hartford, CT, 2024
The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards || Silpe Gallery, West Hartford, CT, 2017Awards & ScholarshipsArtistic Merit Scholarship || Hartford Art School, 2022
Outstanding Arts Award || Connecticut Association of Schools, 2022
Art Achievement Award in Visual Art || Simsbury Public Schools, 2019
Art Achievement Award in Visual Art || Simsbury Public Schools, 2017SkillsBilingual || English, Russian
Digital Art Program Usage || FireAlpaca, Autodesk SketchbookProjectsIndependent Murals || Simsbury High School, 2020-2022