Disposable Devotion: Renaissance Portraits on Household Materials by Helena Minginowicz

Polish artist Helena Minginowicz turns some of the most ordinary disposable objects into unexpected surfaces for her paintings. Working with materials including paper towels, tissues, beauty masks, plastic shopping bags and even doormats, she creates delicate figurative scenes that challenge the way we assign value to the things around us.

Her paper towel works are particularly striking. Using airbrushed acrylic, Helena creates soft, translucent images directly onto the embossed sheets, allowing their familiar floral and geometric patterns to remain visible through portraits, animals and intimate compositions. The contrast is immediately compelling, with imagery that recalls the elegance and drama of Renaissance painting appearing across a material normally designed to be used once and thrown away.

That approach extends across her wider practice. Faces emerge from folded tissues and sheet masks, animals and messages appear across translucent plastic bags, and painted scenes are transferred onto household objects that would rarely be considered worthy of display.

For more of Helena Minginowicz’s unconventional paintings, visit her website and follow her on Instagram.

More art on the grid via Colossal