Mańka Dowling-Skibińska was born on 17 November 1937 in Patków-Józefów, in the Podlasie region of eastern Poland. She studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw and moved to England in 1970, where she lived for several decades, remaining closely connected to the Polish émigré art scene. A passionate colourist, she exhibited internationally, taking inspiration primarily from travel and the natural world.
Artist Mańka Dowling-Skibińska was born on 17 November 1937 in Patków-Józefów, in the Podlasie region of eastern Poland. She discovered her talent for painting at the age of twelve, when neighbours began asking her to paint roses for them — a moment that sparked a lifelong passion. Her formal artistic journey began with rigorous academic training at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, where she studied from 1961 to 1967 in the studios of Jan Cybis and Rajmund Ziemski. Cybis, a celebrated Polish colourist, became a lasting influence on her approach—particularly her understanding of colour as the foundation of artistic expression. In the late 1960s, Dowling-Skibińska supported herself by designing textiles for the Wzór Arts and Crafts Co-operative and working as a graphic designer for international trade fairs.
In 1970, she moved permanently to London, where she initially worked in publishing, including for a naturist magazine—an experience that influenced the erotic themes of her debut solo exhibition at the Woodstock Gallery in 1972. The show was a critical and financial success—every work sold to a private collector—and the proceeds allowed her to travel to Greece. This trip proved formative, inspiring her to explore three-dimensional painting techniques, well ahead of contemporary trends in ‘3D art’. Although these spatial compositions were not immediately embraced by galleries, Dowling-Skibińska persevered. In the late 1970s, she joined the graphic arts studio at Hounslow College of Art, producing theatrical silk-screens and etchings. Her next solo shows—at the New Talent Store and the UN IMCO Gallery in London in 1980—marked her emergence as a mature and distinctive voice. She then left graphic design to focus exclusively on painting. Travels to Italy, particularly Florence and Siena in 1981, rekindled her fascination with vibrant colour. Throughout the 1980s, she continued to explore the interplay of light and space, even incorporating holography into her work, culminating in an exhibition in Monte Carlo in 1984. She also taught at adult education centres in west London, notably Spring Grove and Waterman’s Art Centre, and coordinated an art studio at West Middlesex Hospital, where she created murals.
For Dowling-Skibińska, art is not a detached intellectual exercise but a way of embracing life with joy, humour, and empathy. She once stated: ‘My dream is that people, when looking at my paintings, will smile now, and maybe even laugh, even 150 years from now’ (Stare Pędzle. Młode Serca exhibition). Her work, rich in playful energy and metaphysical curiosity, aims to uplift and connect. She creates not only with technical skill and imagination, but also with a deep belief in the transformative power of painting. Colour plays a central role in Dowling-Skibińska’s practice. It is not merely a formal concern but the core of her visual language. Whether figurative or abstract, her paintings are expressive, whimsical, and deeply personal. Critics have likened her style to that of naïve artists and to Aboriginal painting, noting its symbolic, floating forms and disregard for linear perspective (Artinfo). Her compositions feature swirling figures, animals, architectural fragments, and dreamlike scenes imbued with metaphor and humour. Though she began with pure abstraction, she returned to expressive figuration, blending fantasy with visual storytelling. Her first visit to New York in 1987, and encounters with the collections of MoMA and the Guggenheim, intensified her exploration of light as a central theme. Her palette simplified, but her compositions gained luminosity and clarity.
Throughout her life, Dowling-Skibińska remained deeply engaged with Poland. She returned regularly, both for exhibitions and extended stays and, in 2005, she and her husband relocated temporarily to Poland. There, she organised a group show at Traffic Gallery in Warsaw, followed by a major solo exhibition at the Palace Kordegarda in Łazienki Park in 2007. That year, she also showed her work at the Museum of Culture in Chetumal, Mexico, and contributed to group exhibitions in St. Petersburg, Syria, and Sweden. In 2009, Dowling-Skibińska settled in Narewka near the Białowieża Forest, where she continues to paint, inspired by the Podlasie landscape. Her later exhibitions include shows in Berlin’s Spiegel Salon (2013) and a 2016 exhibition at the Italian Cultural Institute in Bordighera. She also remains active in the Polish diaspora art scene in London, regularly exhibiting with the Association of Polish Artists (APA) at POSK Gallery in west London. Dowling-Skibińska’s solo shows in London include Woodstock Gallery, Elia Huska Gallery, Ealing Gallery, and Bloomsbury Theatre Gallery. She often collaborates with her lifelong Polish friend, the artist, Slavomir Blatton. Their joint shows—including Stare pędzle. Młode serca (Old Brushes, Young Hearts) at Galeria Pod Arkadami, Łomża, in 2025—testify to the enduring vitality of their shared vision. Dowling-Skibińska's work is not currently represented in any UK public collections.