Julia Curylo wins prestigious competition - exhibition at MANES Gallery in Prague
Julia Curylo has been awarded First Prize in art competition, concluded on June 2, 2025. Her latest painting, Lost Dreams, was selected from over 100 submissions by a jury composed of Rafał Kamecki (Artinfo.pl), Andrzej Mrowiec (Artbrokers.eu), and Piotr Sarzynski (Polityka).
The awarded work masterfully navigates the space between pop culture clichés and the deep-seated anxieties of contemporary life, affirming Curylo's distinctive voice in today's art scene.
As part of the prize, her work will be featured in the international exhibition New Polish Art at the Mánes Gallery in Prague-one of Central Europe's most renowned and historic art venues.
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The MANES Gallery (Mánes Exhibition Hall), located on the banks of the Vltava River, is a legendary centre of Czech artistic life. Built between 1928 and 1930, this gem of functionalist architecture was erected on the foundations of a medieval mill and water tower. From the very beginning, it has served as a venue for avant-garde and contemporary art. Over the decades, many distinguished artists have exhibited their work at MANES, including Alfons Mucha, František Kupka, Josef Čapek, Otto Gutfreund, Toyen, and, in more recent years, Ai Weiwei and Olafur Eliasson.
For decades, the gallery has represented not only an exhibition space, but also a symbol of artistic freedom and international dialogue. Julia Curylo's participation in the New Polish Art exhibition is a significant honour and a testament to her strong presence on the European contemporary art scene.
About "Lost Dreams" painting
Lost Dreams is a monumental canvas (200 × 140 cm) in which Julia Curylo once again demonstrates her mastery in combining the language of pop culture with a profound and often unsettling reflection on today's world.
The painting presents a hyperrealistic, dreamlike scene, where iconic symbols of pop culture and mass imagination are immersed in a melancholic, disquieting atmosphere - as if subjected to a process of decay.
It is a narrative of lost dreams, of the fragility of contemporary myths and illusions, and at the same time a hypnotic painterly study of formal virtuosity.
Exhibition at Porto.art
Soon, at Porto.art, we will present an exhibition of Julia Curylo's works, offering visitors the opportunity to discover other equally intriguing and new pieces - showcasing her unique visual language and incisive perspective on contemporary reality.
"Julia Curylo's painting, awarded in the competition and soon to be presented at the MANES Gallery, resonates strongly with today's contemporary art discourse - boldly using the language of pop culture to explore the experiences and anxieties of our time. At Porto.art, we are committed to presenting such voices - distinctive, thought-provoking, critical, and visually powerful. We are excited to soon showcase the broader context of Julia's work in our gallery." - Maja Mlodzinska, Co-founder of Porto.art
