Currently, I, Michael Markowsky, am the 'Artist in Residence' at One Colorado. The previous artist to occupy the space was Yoko Ono with her 'Wish Tree' project. My contribution is a part of my "Arts In Store" project, where I collaborate with businesses to share art with the public. The press release follows:
An artist who focuses on action and movement in his paintings is taking up residence in the One Colorado Courtyard through December 6, in preparation for his upcoming one-person show at the Armory Center for the Arts scheduled for 2009. For the next three weeks, Michael Markowsky will be relocating his studio outdoors into the heart of the Courtyard, bringing the artistic process into dynamic interaction with patrons.
At the same time as talking to the public and absorbing the influences from working in this high-traffic urban space, Markowsky is creating artwork for his Armory exhibition next year, June 28 to August 30, 2009. The artist welcomes conversations with passersby, and will be painting at One Colorado most days (except Wednesdays and Sundays) through December 6 from 11:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M., often until dusk.
Markowsky’s residency at One Colorado is made possible through an Individual Artist’s Grant from the City of Pasadena Cultural Affairs Division and the Pasadena Arts & Culture Commission.
“I chose to paint at One Colorado, because for me it is the unofficial center of Pasadena,” states Markowsky. “The Courtyard especially is an important gathering place in the city. Already, a number of families with young children have come to ask me what I’m doing and, when I talk to them about my residency, they say that they want to come back and see how my paintings develop.”
Much of Markowsky’s approach to art involves action and movement in specific locations. “Over the past decade,” the artist has written,” I have been making landscape drawings and oil paintings while riding inside or on top of moving vehicles such as cars, buses, airplanes and speedboats. I have also made artwork following in the footsteps of a number of real and fictional persons. For instance, I have re-traced the infamous journeys of O.J. Simpson, James Dean, Errol Flynn, and Jack Nicholson’s movements in the 1970 film Chinatown. My paintings often have serpentine and flowing lines, flat areas of exuberant, bright color and patches of exposed canvas. Stylistically, my artwork is reminiscent of painters such as Henri Matisse and Paul Cezanne, as well as contemporary painters Peter Doig and Daniel Richter.”
Markowsky has also theatrically documented his art process with video and photos, and this activity has been compared by some critics to the performance work of Matthew Barney and Joseph Beuys.
The artist was raised in the prairie city of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He graduated with honors from the Alberta College of Art and Design and studied at Cooper Union in New York City and the Royal College of Art in London, England. He obtained a Master of Fine Arts Degree in 2002 from Art Center College of Design.
