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Lisa Kowalski • Profile
Lisa Kowalski is not afraid to paint. With bold, fluid brush strokes and a minimal style, her paintings have a childlike freedom and a sophisticated spontaneity. Her dynamic oil paintings are infused with creative energy, an intuitive sense of color, and an innate understanding of composition. Reminiscent of the Abstract Expressionism movement of the 1940s and beyond, Kowalski unleashes the creativity of her unconscious mind through the impulsive quality of her approach, therefore making the process just as important as the painting itself. She paints what she feels, capturing the essence of herself and all she has absorbed in the world, displaying it on the canvas or board in the form of uncalculated marks, rich textures, and games of positive and negative space.
Lisa received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1988 from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Lisa Kowalski's studio is located in Denver Colorado.
"There is an unmitigated spontaneity driven by emotive forces, reacting intuitively, relying on chance and making arbitrary choices. The works are not meant to be narrative. I am in love with everything about the act of painting; the smell, the lushness of oil paint, color." -L Kowalski
Lisa Kowalski • Statement
Everything in life inspires me, not quite with direct interpretation, but as I see and experience faces, words, gestures, colors and shapes - all of it - I am always looking and reacting to the energy around me. It can become a self centered reflection of whatever is around that interests me rather than great issues that have to be answered objectively. All of this gets channeled and flows from brain to arm, hitting white board with that first wonderful stroke of vibrant color, and continues with adding and subtracting, stripping down to the most essential. I am in love with the eloquence of sparseness and everything to do with the act of painting: the smell, the lushness of oil paint, color.
There is unmitigated spontaneity driven by emotive forces, reacting intuitively, chance and choice. The works are not meant to be narrative, but visual explorations. These explorations evoke sensation in the viewer that are not bounded by the literal, but can be broadly identified as physical, spiritual or psychological. The titles are personal associations. I try to work with a straightforward painter's vocabulary without pretension. I'm not interested in postmodern irony or intellectualizing about painting.
My methods of line and stroke are deliberate, intuitively unidentified. I don't labor over works. If they start to trouble me, they need to be set aside, while I move on to the next piece. This keeps several pieces in process and the momentum keeps ideas clear. Logic and intuition are always shifting and struggling between what will be viewed and holding onto my pure intention.
Lisa Kowalski • Biography
EDUCATION
1988
Bachelor of Fine Arts, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
Visiting Artist Workshop, Painting with Raphael Ferrar
1987
Oxbow Summer Workshop, Independent Study, Saugatuck, Michigan
TRAVEL STUDIES
1988
Barcelona and Cadaques, Spain
1987
Paris, France
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2011
'New Paintings' Lisa Kowalski, Ironton Gallery, Denver Colorado
2010
"Into the Brilliance" Half Dozen Gallery, Portland Oregon
2010
"Fog" Half Dozen Gallery, Portland Oregon
2009
"Art Club" Half Dozen Gallery, Portland Oregon
"10 Paintings" Half Dozen Gallery, Portland Oragon
2008
"New Work, New City" Square 101 Gallery, Denver Colorado
"Recent Paintings" Bluestone Gallery, Denver Colorado
2007
LaFontsee Galleries, "2007-d" Grand Rapids, Michigan
"Bridge Art Fair London," Trafalgar Square, London UK
"Bridge Art Fair Chicago," Chicago, Illinois
"Bridge Art Fair Miami," Miami Art Basel, Miami, Florida
Navta Schultz Gallery, "New Paintings," Chicago, Illinois
2006
LaFontsee Galleries, "Five" Grand Rapids, Michigan
Navta Schultz Gallery, "Four From Chicago: An Exhibition of Chicago-Based Gallery Artists," Chicago, Illinois
Navta Schultz Gallery, "Fresh Paint," Chicago, Illinois
2005
Water Street Gallery, New York, Princeton, Wisconsin
LaFontsee Galleries, "April Fools: Paintings or Prints?" Grand Rapids, Michigan
2004
LaFontsee Galleries, "UNADULTerated," Group Exhibition, Grand Rapids, Michigan
2003
G2 Gallery, "Bare Walls 2003," Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
Water Street Gallery, "Lisa Kowalski," Solo Exhibition, Princeton, Wisconsin
LaFontsee Galleries, "Holiday Muse," Group Exhibition, Grand Rapids, Michigan
LaFontsee Galleries, "Freshly Picked," Three-Person Exhibition, Grand Rapids, Michigan
2002
G2 Gallery, "Bare Walls 2002," Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
Exhibition at EAU by Water Street Gallery, "Lisa Kowalski," Princeton, Wisconsin
LaFontsee Galleries, "LaFontsee Galleries' Fifteenth Anniversary Celebration," Group Exhibition, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Contemporary Art Workshop, "New Paintings," Chicago, Illinois
2001
LaFontsee Galleries, "No Boundaries," Grand Rapids, Michigan
LaFontsee Galleries, "Emerging," Grand Rapids, Michigan
Fountain Street Church, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, "Live Coverage," Grand Rapids, Michigan
2000
LaFontsee Galleries, "New Season, New Work, New Road," Grand Rapids, Michigan
1999
Muskegon Museum of Art, "Regional 71," Muskegon, Michigan
LaFontsee Galleries, "Object of My Affection," Grand Rapids, Michigan
1998
Muskegon Museum of Art, "Regional 70," Muskegon, Michigan
Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, "Live Coverage," Grand Rapids, Michigan
Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, "Jump Start," Grand Rapids, Michigan
1997
Gallery Function Art, Pontiac, Michigan
1996
Hoeksma Gallery, Grand Haven, Michigan
1994
Carlyn Gallery, Grand Haven, Michigan
1993
Battle Creek Art Center, "New Photo Images," Battle Creek, Michigan
Tewlews Gallery, Holland, Michigan
1992
Beverly Art Center, "Arthur and Alice Baer Juried Competition," Chicago, Illinois
1990
Synergy Gallery, "Two of a Kind," Chicago, Illinois
1989
Gallery Great Lakes, "Urban Archeology," Chicago, Illinois
Contemporary Art Workshop, Chicago, Illinois
1988
Beverly Art Center, "Arthur and Alice Baer Juried Competition," Chicago, Illinois
1987
School of the Art Institute of Chicago, "Traveling Fellowship Show," Chicago, Illinois
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
Marina Bay Sands, Singapore
Microsoft Corporation, Seattle Washington
Sue Miller and Jeff Tweedy, Chicago Illinois
Greenfield Partners, Chicago Illinois
Haworth, Zeeland, Michigan
Herman Miller Inc., Zeeland, Michigan
Murray and Murray Law Offices, Sandusky, Ohio
Nokomis Foundation, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Jean-Claude and Beth Saada, Dallas, Texas
Steelcase, Inc., St. Louis, Missouri
URS Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan
