While most of us throw away paper towels without a second thought, Polish artist Helena Minginowicz transforms them into delicate canvases for her acrylic paintings. Through these fragile, everyday materials, she explores themes of intimacy, memory, and impermanence.
“I am interested in materials that exist very close to disappearance—soft, absorbent, fragile things created to serve the body for a brief moment before being discarded,” Minginowicz tells My Modern Met. “Paper towels, tissues, plastic bags and other disposable materials are, for me, much more than simple surfaces for an image. They are objects after experience—carriers of traces, time, contact and presence.”
Minginowicz first noticed the overlooked qualities of a paper towel at a friend’s house, when she found one printed with a dancing fruit illustration. She recalls, “I remember thinking: ‘who designs patterns for objects that will be thrown away a moment later?’ That small, almost absurd tenderness toward something so temporary moved me deeply.”
Disposable materials became Minginowicz’s focus, and she began exploring fragile objects that are often thrown away, seeing them as a reflection of contemporary life. “I think about these materials as reminders of human existence itself—of the temporariness of our experiences, relationships, bodies, and emotions, and of the possibility that there may be nothing tragic about this impermanence,” explains the artist. “Very often we try to resist the natural movement of things: to preserve time, archive experiences, give permanence to what is inherently fragile and unstable. At the same time, we ignore experiences that appear insignificant, ordinary, or banal. I am interested precisely in this tension—between what we consider important and what only appears important.”
Featuring delicate faces, bodily forms, and animals, each paper towel painting captures the fragile traces of human experience. The soft surface absorbs paint almost like skin, allowing stains, gestures, and marks to become part of the image. “Sometimes I think that, as humans, we would like to be more like canvases—durable, resistant, able to remain,” says Minginowicz. “In reality, we are much closer to paper towels: absorbent, delicate, temporary and vulnerable to disappearance.”
Check out some of the artist’s paper towel paintings below. To discover even more of her portfolio, visit Minginowicz’s website.
While most of us throw away paper towels without a second thought, Polish artist Helena Minginowicz transforms them into delicate canvases for her acrylic paintings.
Featuring delicate faces, bodily forms, and animals, each paper towel painting captures the fragile traces of human experience.
Through these fragile, everyday materials, the artist explores themes of intimacy, memory, and impermanence.
Helena Minginowicz: Website | Facebook | Instagram
My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Helena Minginowicz.
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