Study No 2 Catharsis Original Painting by Jarek Filipowicz Pastels

Study No. 2 — Catharsis
Oil pastel on canvas
By Jarek Filipowicz

This work marks a turning point in my practice. For years I worked in pure abstraction — fast, instinctive, energetic. But as my body changed, as fibromyalgia and chronic pain reshaped my mobility and my pace, I found myself moving toward a different kind of quality. A slower quality. A deeper quality.

Instead of chasing the quick dopamine hit of social‑media‑friendly visuals, I chose to create work that is dopamine — work that rewards attention, quiets pain, and becomes a world I can inhabit when reality feels too sharp.

Catharsis is the second study in my 12‑work cycle of dialogues with the classics. Inspired by Wyspiański’s Portrait of Mietek, this piece is part of my self‑education — a way of learning from the masters without formal art training, by sitting with them, answering them, and bringing their emotional intensity into a modern context.

Art‑making has been shown to activate dopamine pathways in the brain, supporting emotional regulation and pain relief. In that sense, every viewer who engages with this work becomes part of the healing process — a shared exchange of attention, empathy, and presence.

Unframed.
£6,000