Participating in ‘Poetic Vandalism’, the Polish Paintress Joanna Koziej, artistically known as Malarka, is spreading tiled treasures across the world.
Creating one off pieces, large scale multi-tile installations, and sneaky additions to public spaces, Malarka and her artworks join our list of favourite finds. With a style that radiates an ethereal aura, staggered brush strokes, interrupted lines, and energetic waves transfer beauty from brush to ceramic canvas.
Selecting enamelled ceramic tile for its competing themes of durability and fragility, Malarka’s public artworks inject unexpected vibrancy, countering drab spaces or complementing their surroundings. For those intrigued, the Malarka Map highlights each individual artwork and where to find them.
Travelling in her home-cum-studio 90s camper, her opportunities for inspiration are endless. A collaboration with the Iznik Foundation showcase a series of tiles informed by her road trip across Türkiye, translating the country’s landscapes into individual pieces, with traditional Turkish quartz-based paints and glazes creating the colour ways that represent mountain formations and rippling rocks.
For My Japan and for For Warsaw, the soul and styles of each place are given life through Malarka’s artistic hand. Other individual pieces and curated series demonstrate the breadth of her skill, offering abstract artworks, playful colour, and comforting scenes.
A new post by Hanna Simpson, Diary of a Tile Addict, November 2025.