About The Artist

Barbara Kobylinska was born in Warsaw, Poland. She received a Master's degree in Graphic Design and later a Master's in Costume and Stage Design at Warsaw's Academy of Fine Arts. Since then, she has been an art teacher; a children’s book illustrator, a poster, puppet and stage designer; and finally a sculptor. For the last 25 years, she has worked in her Virginia Beach studio, creating large (4-6 ft.), colorful ceramics birds, bugs and flowers that mirror the natural world with an abstract, fanciful twist. In 1981 she sailed with her husband across the Atlantic and through the Caribbean’s on a small sail boat. Since then, nature has been a dominant factor that has influenced and inspired Barbara Kobylinska’s artwork. She feels and expresses her deep admiration for nature’s wonders: organic, rich forms and abundant colors in her giant flowers and bird sculptures. “Barbara Kobylinska approaches her art with both a studied sense of design and an unapologetic trust of intuition. Her artistic training and experience, has afforded her a solid understanding of structural form and language of shape, mass and proportion. Barbara Kobylinska is adventurousand inventive. With humor and a sophisticated, playful intelligence, she invites us to share her delight in the unexpected.” Bob Donovan, curator at Century Center Artspace, Arlington, VA. Her large indoor/outdoor sculptures has been exhibited in many prestigious national art shows including SOFA WEST in Santa Fe, Chicago SOFA, US Botanic Garden in Washington, DC, Loveland Sculpture Show in Colorado, ArtPrize in Michigan, as well as, permanently aboard the “Oasis of the Sea” cruise ship, the Norfolk Botanical Gardens, Courthouse Galleries Portsmouth,Va. and various private collections throughout the country and abroad. Barbara Kobylinska is a member of International Sculpture Center, Washington Sculptors Group and Ceramic Designers Association.