As part of an ongoing series of artist interviews, The Art Five returns with a conversation with Neil Zakiewicz, whose recent body of Women paintings brings together a group of portraits shaped as much by personal connection as by painterly experimentation.
The works depict women known to the artist — friends, family, and partners — approached through a visual language that moves between abstraction and figuration. What emerges is not a fixed idea of “woman” as subject, but something more fluid and reflective: a series grounded in lived relationships, memory, and perception.
In this interview, Zakiewicz reflects on how the series came together, the role of familiarity and intimacy in portraiture, and the evolving balance between structure and spontaneity in his practice.
Q: What first drew you to making this series of Women paintings?
A: Actually, I paint portraits of both men and women. When you invited me to exhibit at TM Gallery, I'd just finished a portrait of Karolina Albricht that I wanted to include alongside some older pieces. I realised I had a few other portraits that had never been shown, plus some I wanted to look at again, and I noticed they were all of women.
I guess another factor is that I can't recall ever seeing a "women-themed" exhibition before, even though women and portraits of women are everywhere in art—usually as idealised beauty or the artist's muse. The theme feels so obvious, maybe too obvious or superficial to be taken seriously as a curatorial subject? I can't imagine the Tate putting on an exhibition just called Women; it feels too encyclopaedic. The only thing I can think of is Martin Kippenberger's book Frauen, a small collection of photos of women. The photos are varied, non-hierarchical, have no captions, and some seem to be found, yet they hint at something personal. Like him, I'm not trying to make a grand point about women. Any attempt to sum up the subject just falls apart into fragments. Ultimately, I think this theme is more about me than it is about women—it's really just a reflection of the women in my life.
Q: All of the subjects are women you know - friends, family, partners. How does that personal connection shape the way you paint them?
A: Stylistically, the works vary quite a bit. It's an interesting question: does my feeling toward the person influence how I paint them? I think it does, to a certain extent. It definitely impacts the scale. For instance, it felt right to paint Nico large because she is a famous model and singer. But for my personal friends and family, I prefer to keep them comparatively small.
I wouldn't have painted Nico with a wide smile, either; that wouldn't capture her personality as the "queen of goth." On the flip side, my portrait of my wife, Jo, laughing at Picasso says a lot about her sense of humour.
Q: Your work often sits between abstraction and figuration. How do you approach that balance in this series?
A: For a long time, I had two parallel practices: making purely abstract paintings on one side, and sketching people or going to life drawing classes on the other. The abstract works were never truly "pure," though. I often played with optical illusions that hinted at landscapes or faces. Then, a few years ago, I decided to reconcile those two sides of my practice. It blew open a lot of possibilities and felt much more honest and revealing.
Now, I still incorporate optical illusions and typographic games, where letters form the shape of facial features. I keep the graphic simplicity of my abstractions, but it's all jumbled up with my other interests.
Q: How much of each painting is planned, and how much is discovered as you go?
A: I always start with a small drawing I refer to while painting. I might work through several variations of the same sketch until it feels poised to bloom into something larger. Once I start the painting, I plan out how I'll layer and mask certain areas. That planning is crucial because I usually paint quite rapidly - sometimes in a single session - and I feel I can only pull that off if I know roughly what I'm doing.
That's not to say I never change my mind mid-painting. There's still a lot of improvisation and last-minute revision involved. I usually keep the drawings for future reference, regardless of whether the final painting turns out a success.
Q: What are you exploring or pushing further through this series?
A: I recently finished another portrait of my mother, Anne, where the letters of our surname, ZAK, form her facial features. I plan to keep making portraits of women by picking up threads from previous works. My style has evolved to be looser and more brushy than it was two years ago. The paintings are less precise now, but there's still a strong sense of order underneath.
