Joanna Salska-McNeil is a Polish-American visual artist and painter with plenty of artistic legacy and an unquenchable passion for creating new works and taking on challenges that, with their wide thematic scope, reflect her need to share her enthusiasm and willingness to learn new experiences with the world.
As the author of the idea, in 2025 she initiated the creation of the Foundation, an initiative that is the result of many years of preparation, as well as the effect of dreams and fascinations focused around the history of the Crooked Circle Club, the concentration in one place of outstanding figures, authorities of various disciplines within an active centre of intellectual and artistic life. As she notes, “The history of the activities of Polish intellectuals, activists of the Crooked Circle Club and the accompanying artistic Crooked Circle Gallery is not only a great historical legacy, it is also a model of dialogue, multi-threaded discussion leading to a better understanding of the world and shaping reality” – we invite you to read the full Salska’s statement. As the president of the foundation, she coordinates, among others, artistic activities, develops cooperation with artists, and works to promote and develop a broad discussion on contemporary art.
In 2010, Salska presented a manifesto initiating the creation of Alterrealism, a new artistic movement, of which she became the founder. Observations of the changes taking place in the world adapting to the fourth industrial revolution, the convergence of society with technologies developing at a dizzying pace, as well as multi-world interpretations of quantum mechanics intertwined with the transcendence and multidimensionality of Eastern philosophies, prompted her to take a new look at reality and art. As a result of reflection on the essence of reality, Joanna Salska brought Alterrealism to life, a trend that goes beyond the horizon of directed interpretations and experiences observed in other artistic trends. Alterrealist art is devoid of negation in relation to other fields, and at the same time it is their extension, where the message goes beyond the boundaries of realism, anti-realism, confirmation and denial in the perception of reality not expressed in intuition, but entering the depths of the subconscious. A characteristic feature of Alterrealism is going beyond the framework of conventional thinking, replacing it with emotional universalism and depth of feeling from concept, through the artist’s creative process, to the presentation of the work to the recipient, who is not imposed with a predetermined image of the world, leaving freedom in choosing diverse perspectives of experiencing the work and its observation. Joanna Salska’s works can be viewed at: www.joannasalska.com
Biographical Note
Joanna Salska received an MFA from renowned Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts and a scholarship from the Ministry of Culture and Art. She completed PHD program in studio art at her Alma Matter under the supervision of prof. K. Wachowiak and Tomasz Milanowski. Salska submitted her dissertation and received a PHD in fine arts in 2024.
In 1982, she was invited to a residency at the Yaddo Foundation in Saratoga Springs, NY, USA. She took part in many exhibitions in the USA and Europe, including the renowned Columbia University, New York, NY., Lachmann Gallery, Foster Goldstrom Fine Arts and Allrich Gallery. She also received awards for works at the Humboldt Cultural Centre and Fiberworks Gallery in Berkeley. In 2012 and 2014, she was invited to take part in the Beijing Biennial in China, and one of her paintings was selected and placed in the permanent collection at the National Museum in Beijing.
Her paintings are in many collections, including the National Museum in Beijing, the 7/11 Corporation, the Yaddo Foundation, the Washington Museum of Women in the Arts, and numerous private collections.