PENUMBRA WORKSPACE PROGRAM | RESIDENT | 2025
MAGDA BIERNAT
Image © Magda Biernat. Courtesy of the artist.
“In Magda Biernat’s photographs, we are submerged in a world of brackish water, floating in a constant
state of transition. Her Salt Front works, developed in varying levels of salinity, reveal the permeability
of borders both in concept and process. Following the theme of cultural cross-pollination, Magda reminds us of the fallacy of a ‘pure ethnicity’ social life.”
Magda Biernat is a Polish born, NYC based contemporary art photographer exploring the concepts of home, belonging, in-betweenness, borders and cultural identity. She received her Masters in Marketing and Management from Adam Mickiewicz University and BFA in Photography from Wielkopolska School of Photography as well as her MFA in New Media from Transart Institute in Berlin and New York. Her photographs have been published in, among others, The New Yorker, The New York Times, National Geographic, Interior Design, Wallpaper, Metropolis, Dwell and Afar. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally with exhibitions in Poland, Belgium, France, Canada, Nigeria, The Philippines, Taiwan, Japan and the United States. She is a recipient of awards such as the Center 2016 Director's Choice Award, LensCulture 2015 Emerging Talents Award, TMC/Kodak Grant, Lucie Foundation Awards, Magenta Foundation Flash Forward, Reminders Photography Stronghold 2017 Grant and the 2021 Film Photo Award. Biernat lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.
SPONSORS
This program is supported by Henry Nias Foundation, Joy of Giving Something, The Phillip and Edith Leonian Foundation, and Roz Leibowitz.
