A DOUBLE EXPOSURE.Byline: Bob Keefer The Register-Guard Adam Grosowsky is one of the most popular and prolific painters working in Eugene. His big, bold canvases - often of women's faces, in dramatic light and shadow that borders on being harsh - draw instant recognition from fans. But despite the acclaim, Grosowsky, who sells most of his work in Portland, Seattle and San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden , has had only one solo show in Eugene in his career, and that was more than 15 years ago. That changes this month as not one but two local art venues are mounting simultaneous one-man shows of the artist's work. Karin Clarke Gallery in downtown Eugene and the Springfield Museum will both feature new work by Grosowsky this month. The double header (1) In a disk or tape file, a set of data that resides permanently at the beginning. It may be used for identification only (type of file, date of last update, etc.), or it may describe the structural layout of the contents, as is common with many document and database formats. showings were entirely a coincidence, Grosowsky explained during a recent visit to his Whiteaker neighborhood studio. He's worked there for more than 15 years - when not teaching painting at Lane Community College - in a slightly cramped cramped adj. 1. Uncomfortably small or restricted: cramped living quarters. 2. Difficult to read, especially for being crowded into a small space: cramped handwriting. upstairs room in an anonymous industrial building. Kris Redmond, director of the Springfield Museum, is a former painting student of Grosowky's, and he had promised her a show of his work. At the same time, the artist said, Clarke Gallery owner Karin Clarke had seen how quickly two of his paintings sold in a group show last spring at her gallery and asked if he could take an empty slot on her calendar in August. The two obligations created a perfect storm for the energetic painter, who normally turns out 50 to 60 large canvases a year, and he's been putting in long studio hours in recent weeks to finish enough new work to fill two exhibitions. ``This last month ...'' he began. ``I like having pressure. But this last month has been a little overwhelming, painting for two shows at once. I feel pretty good about the work. It would be nice, in a perfect world, if I could quit teaching and paint full time. But, you know, paintings can be overworked.'' Grosowky, 46, began his art career studying printmaking printmaking Art form consisting of the production of images, usually on paper but occasionally on fabric, parchment, plastic, or other support, by various techniques of multiplication, under the direct supervision of or by the hand of the artist. at the University of Iowa Not to be confused with Iowa State University. The first faculty offered instruction at the University in March 1855 to students in the Old Mechanics Building, situated where Seashore Hall is now. In September 1855, the student body numbered 124, of which, 41 were women. with Mauricio Lasansky Mauricio Lasansky (born October 12, 1914 in Buenos Aires, Argentina) is one of the few modern artists who have limited their works almost exclusively to the graphic media. Due to his early contributions in the development of graphic techniques and his dedication to printmaking, . He moved on to oil painting early on but kept the brooding expressionistic ex·pres·sion·ism n. A movement in the arts during the early part of the 20th century that emphasized subjective expression of the artist's inner experiences. ex·pres look that Lasansky taught. Along the way Grosowsky's work has been influenced by such masters of light and shadow as Caravaggio and Rembrandt. The breakthrough moment in his career came when he showed a Seattle gallery owner some studies he'd done of a woman's face in the style of Vermeer. "I did these Vermeer heads because I was learning how to paint," Grosowsky said. "Not because I wanted them in the show." The gallery owner not only showed the work but offered it to a buyer from the Nordstrom department store chain, which became a regular customer for Grosowsky's paintings. Now, the artist says, he's sold more than 90 paintings to Nordstrom, which uses them to decorate stores across the country. A small but muscular man - he enjoys rock climbing rock climbing Sports medicine An 'extreme sport' in which the participant climbs rock formations, with or without ropes Injury risk Fractures, abrasions, death. See Extreme sports. and windsurfing windsurfing, also called boardsailing or sailboarding, water sport that employs a board-and-sail device and combines elements of sailing and surfing. The sport was developed in the United States during the 1960s by the Californians Jim Drake, a sailor, and Hoyle when he's not painting and teaching - Grosowsky has been working on variations of those Vermeer heads for about seven years, exploring the human face with the kind of detachment detachment /de·tach·ment/ (de-tach´ment) the condition of being separated or disconnected. detachment of retina , retinal detachment that a landscape painter might bring. He paints quickly - an entire canvas might take him only three hours, if all goes well - and that lightness of touch is essential to balance the deep darkness that saturates his portrait work. "When it goes well, it feels really godlike god·like adj. Resembling or of the nature of a god or God; divine. god  like ," he said.
"You're in the zone."
His failed paintings - they are few and quickly overpainted, he says - come from being overworked. Lately, the artist has been varying his subject, doing a few landscapes. The Clarke Gallery show will include three of them, all square canvases, all done in Grosowsky's distinctive dark style. They provide a counterpoint counterpoint, in music, the art of combining melodies each of which is independent though forming part of a homogeneous texture. The term derives from the Latin for "point against point," meaning note against note in referring to the notation of plainsong. to the portraits and figures, which tend to come from the same group of models. ``Some of these models I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. at all. Some are dear friends. It's like living in a room with the same small bunch of people,'' he said. ``When you do landscapes, they come as a relief. They're new places.'' ART EXHIBIT PREVIEWS Adam Grosowsky: New Paintings Where: Karin Clarke Gallery, 760 Willamette St. When: Through Sept. 3 Hours: 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Paintings by Adam Grosowsky Where: Springfield Museum, 590 Main St., Springfield When: Tuesday through Sept. 10 Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; noon to 4 p.m. Saturday Reception: 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday Admission: $2 for adults 19 and older CAPTION(S): ``Girl with Cockatoo'' by Adam Grosowsky is an oil on canvas, 30 inches by 48 inches. It is among the paintings being shown at his solo exhibition at the Karin Clarke Gallery in downtown Eugene. |
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