MONMOUTH, ILLINOIS (September 28, 2022) — A busy Homecoming weekend at Monmouth College will also include an opening reception for an exhibit by Galesburg painter and ceramic artist Basia Krol.
Krol's "Walk with Me" exhibit opens September 30, and the artist will be on campus that day at 3PM for a reception and gallery talk. Displayed in the College's Len G Everett Gallery on the upper level of Hewes Library, Krol's exhibit is free and open to the public, as are the reception and her talk.
Barbara "Basia" Krol was born and raised in Warsaw, Poland. She studied painting and printmaking at Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts and traveled extensively in Europe to study old masters in all major collections. She earned her master's degree in studio art in 2000 from Warsaw Academy of Fine Art and had her first solo show in Warsaw.
Two years later, she was awarded a trio of artist-in-residency programs across the United States — in Washington, Georgia and at Studios Midwest, which brought her to Galesburg. She then returned to Warsaw to teach art in international schools.
Krol returned to the United States in 2004 and became involved in the Chicago art scene. She ran painting workshops, taught classes at Hyde Park Art Center, and worked on portrait and mural commissions. She had a solo show at the Vanderpoel Museum in Chicago and was also part of a three-person show in the city.
In 2011, Krol returned to Galesburg to raise a family. She has since been involved with the local-art community as well as Studios Midwest. She's had solo shows at Carl Sandburg College and the Galesburg Civic Arts Center and taught art history at Sandburg for two years.
Krol's artwork is in private collections in Poland, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States. She continues to paint and sculpt, as well as teach painting and drawing through workshops and private lessons, and helps judge juried art shows. In recent years, Krol developed a passion for ceramics, and now says she dreams of buying a kiln and sharing the joy of clay with the local community in her garden studio, "while cats wander about and kids play in the tree house."
