10.
06.
2026.
Department
Production
Production
Faces, visages, portraits – straight from New York. We invite you to the exhibition by Professor Izabela Łapińska, the opening of which is scheduled for 11, June (Thursday) at 7 p.m. at the Re:Medium
"The faces of people I encountered on the streets of New York inspired me to explore the notion of universal beauty. A beauty that, for the sake of clarity and structure, I called “American Beauty.” In a peculiar, yet photogenic way, this concept encompasses something that appears tangible but is, in reality, elusive.
I searched for faces that felt unique and original; faces that drew me in, that captivated me. I discovered them while scanning the crowd. It’s not easy, because when you’re not actively searching, it seems as though countless beautiful faces pass you by. But once you’re ready and your instincts sharpen, you begin to realize that beauty is unique,
rare, and requires patience.
Street portraiture demands making quick decisions – choosing a face, framing the shot, setting exposure parameters, establishing interaction. Everything happens within minutes and requires complete concentration. I complemented the photos taken “in the field” with studio portraits, which offer greater comfort and control, but much less adrenaline.
While simultaneously working on botanical photography and following the same approach to selecting subjects, I noticed a striking resemblance between the lips of the models in my photographs and botanical forms. It is not only a similar shape and outline, but something deeper – a shared essence of matter itself; as if it was the same beauty, the same visual genotype.
Close-up shots of lips reveal the richness of anatomy and the diversity of identity. During the COVID-19 pandemic and the long period of covering our mouths, I realized that it is precisely this part of the face that best expresses our individuality and personality, identifying us even more distinctly than our eyes.
The exhibition is accompanied by the film “A Break in the Stream” directed by Artur Frątczak. It was created using my photographs processed with artificial intelligence. This short film addresses the issue of "animating" photographs with artificial intelligence models, increasingly common in contemporary imaging, and the shift in perception of the subject of the image, which transforms it from a static figure into a moving one.
The generated characters have nothing to do with authenticity – they merely aspire to resemble the real world. They are merely a simulation created with the help of AI, whose effects can be modulated. The moving characters in the photographs are images of real people, but what they do is beyond their conscious awareness, the product of an algorithm. The multiplication of characters is a reference to the process of perceptual familiarization of the viewer, in which phenomena initially perceived as alien or difficult to accept become "normal," which is most easily achieved through visual appeal.
The film’s title refers to the photographic process, in which whatever appears before the camera lens gets momentarily suspended. The moment the shutter is released and the image is captured is like an interruption of the continuity of time. The photographs animated by AI are an attempt to reintegrate these frozen figures into that stream."
Izabela Łapińska
Izabela Łapińska talks about the exhibition and her travels around New York in the Culture Zone of Radio Łódź: radiolodz.pl/american-beauty-wedlug-izabeli-lapinskiej-podcast,641253
Izabela Łapińska is an artist photographer, film scholar, and art professor. She graduated with a degree in photography from the National Film, Television and Theatre School in Łódź, where she also earned a PhD in film photography. She also holds a degree in cultural studies from the University of Łódź. For over 20 years, she has worked as an academic teacher at the Lodz Film School, in the Department of Film Art Organization. Her internationally recognized and award-winning work focuses on portraiture and studio photography, often reflecting on the identity and form of the human body.
AMERICAN BEAUTY
exhibition opening: 11 June, at 7 p.m.
exhibition duration: 11, June, 2026 – 30, August, 2026
Galeria Re:Medium
113, Piotrkowska Street , Łódź
Join the event on FB: fb.me/e/62rWdULSR
I searched for faces that felt unique and original; faces that drew me in, that captivated me. I discovered them while scanning the crowd. It’s not easy, because when you’re not actively searching, it seems as though countless beautiful faces pass you by. But once you’re ready and your instincts sharpen, you begin to realize that beauty is unique,
rare, and requires patience.
Street portraiture demands making quick decisions – choosing a face, framing the shot, setting exposure parameters, establishing interaction. Everything happens within minutes and requires complete concentration. I complemented the photos taken “in the field” with studio portraits, which offer greater comfort and control, but much less adrenaline.
While simultaneously working on botanical photography and following the same approach to selecting subjects, I noticed a striking resemblance between the lips of the models in my photographs and botanical forms. It is not only a similar shape and outline, but something deeper – a shared essence of matter itself; as if it was the same beauty, the same visual genotype.
Close-up shots of lips reveal the richness of anatomy and the diversity of identity. During the COVID-19 pandemic and the long period of covering our mouths, I realized that it is precisely this part of the face that best expresses our individuality and personality, identifying us even more distinctly than our eyes.
The exhibition is accompanied by the film “A Break in the Stream” directed by Artur Frątczak. It was created using my photographs processed with artificial intelligence. This short film addresses the issue of "animating" photographs with artificial intelligence models, increasingly common in contemporary imaging, and the shift in perception of the subject of the image, which transforms it from a static figure into a moving one.
The generated characters have nothing to do with authenticity – they merely aspire to resemble the real world. They are merely a simulation created with the help of AI, whose effects can be modulated. The moving characters in the photographs are images of real people, but what they do is beyond their conscious awareness, the product of an algorithm. The multiplication of characters is a reference to the process of perceptual familiarization of the viewer, in which phenomena initially perceived as alien or difficult to accept become "normal," which is most easily achieved through visual appeal.
The film’s title refers to the photographic process, in which whatever appears before the camera lens gets momentarily suspended. The moment the shutter is released and the image is captured is like an interruption of the continuity of time. The photographs animated by AI are an attempt to reintegrate these frozen figures into that stream."
Izabela Łapińska
Izabela Łapińska talks about the exhibition and her travels around New York in the Culture Zone of Radio Łódź: radiolodz.pl/american-beauty-wedlug-izabeli-lapinskiej-podcast,641253
Izabela Łapińska is an artist photographer, film scholar, and art professor. She graduated with a degree in photography from the National Film, Television and Theatre School in Łódź, where she also earned a PhD in film photography. She also holds a degree in cultural studies from the University of Łódź. For over 20 years, she has worked as an academic teacher at the Lodz Film School, in the Department of Film Art Organization. Her internationally recognized and award-winning work focuses on portraiture and studio photography, often reflecting on the identity and form of the human body.
AMERICAN BEAUTY
exhibition opening: 11 June, at 7 p.m.
exhibition duration: 11, June, 2026 – 30, August, 2026
Galeria Re:Medium
113, Piotrkowska Street , Łódź
Join the event on FB: fb.me/e/62rWdULSR