This painting captures the quiet before intention becomes action — on one inhale.
It is a portrait not of a person, but of a moment—that weightless pause before the exhalation, before words, before decisions. A state of being fully present, just for a second longer than usual.

Drawn with a single, uninterrupted brushstroke, the figure emerges without hesitation, yet not without care. The gesture is fluid, deliberate, and intimate. It’s a minimalist expression that carries the weight of complexity—emotion distilled to its purest form.

Inspired by the linear language of Picasso and the modernist search for essence, the composition here becomes personal: softer, quieter, and unmistakably feminine. The large scale of the canvas—120 by 160 cm—amplifies its presence. This is not a sketch. It is an architectural intervention in paint.

The color field behind the figure was chosen not to fill the space, but to balance it. Like light falling across a room at the perfect hour, it supports without overshadowing.

There is no scenery, no detail—and yet, the space feels inhabited. The simplicity doesn’t empty the painting; it grounds it, making room for emotion, memory and interpretation.

As both architect and painter, Marika Jóźwiak brings a rare clarity to this work. She understands proportion not only as a visual rule but as an emotional register. She knows when to stop—and where to place the final curve, the breath, the silence.

Inhale is a painting that lives in that one suspended moment—when the world holds still,
and something unnamed, but deeply known, begins.