Dorota Orlof — an artist and designer on a creative expedition.

ARTISTIC PRACTICE

My artistic practice centres on regular, attentive work with ink and paper. For me, painting is an embodied process where the movement of the body, the brush, and the material converge through a shared flow of energy. I seek to hold this energy within the work and pass it on to the viewer.

I work primarily with traditional ink on raw Xuan paper. These materials shape the way I work, encouraging presence, sensitivity, and discipline. The process feels like a dialogue with a living entity: small changes in pressure, speed, or moisture shift the outcome, and learning to respond to these variations is an essential part of my practice.

Many of my works are presented as hanging scrolls. I treat the scroll not as a historical replica, but as a contemporary format that allows the painting to exist as a complete object—something that can be seasonally displayed, transported, and lived with. The scroll’s proportions, materials, and margins are considered as carefully as the painted surface itself.

My work is informed by everyday experiences in natural environments within the Nordic context, where I live and work, as well as by observations gathered through travel. Rather than illustrating specific places or scenes, the work reflects—through gesture and material—how these encounters are felt and remembered.

DESIGN PRACTICE

I’ve worked as an illustrator and visual designer since 2013. I currently hold a position as a freelance art director with ellerystudio.com and as a partner and visual designer at variat.studio. A selection of my design work can be found on my dedicated website: dorotaorlof.com.

BACKGROUND

I have been drawn to drawing and painting for as long as I can remember. This early fascination led me to study fine arts and graphic design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków, my hometown. After graduating, I pursued a career as a visual designer—a path I have followed for more than thirteen years.

Yet the need for a manual, artistic practice never left me. Over the years, its presence only grew stronger. Eventually, I decided to listen to that voice and give it space in the form of an ink-wash practice that I now cultivate in my studio.

I hold a Master’s degree in Graphic Design from the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków and I am a Fab Academy alumna, having completed the “How to Make Almost Anything” program at Fab Lab Barcelona. Since 2024, I have been a student at Aalto University in the Department of Art and Media (Helsinki, Finland).