Justin Terlecki - Painter/Printmaker

"Balcony" acrylic on canvas  27" x 31"

Justin Terlecki

Name: Justin Terlecki
City/State: St. Paul, MN
Email: justinterlecki@hotmail.com
Website: http://www.grovelandgallery.com/artistdetail.php?aID=TerJ
MNartist.org profile: http: // MNartists.org/Terlecki

Facebook page: http: //facebook.com/justin.terlecki

Bio~ 

I studied painting and printmaking at Youngstown State University, located in Northeast Ohio, and completed my BFA in 1997.  Since 1998, I have been living in the Twin Cities. 

My home and studio space is in the Frogtown neighborhood of St. Paul.  I also work at Wet Paint art supply store on Grand Avenue.

Tell me about your work? What are you currently working on? How is this different from past projects?

I work mainly from personal experiences and memory. Using these experiences as inspiration, I create detailed narratives. I am intrigued by how our thought process and time alters our memories. During the past five years, travel has also played an important role in my work. In 2010, I created a series of prints, inspired by recent travels to India and Spain. This work was funded by the Jerome Fellowship for Emerging Printmakers through Highpoint Center for Printmaking.  In my paintings and prints, I strive to portray the subtle nuances of communication, human relationships, and connection. Currently, I am focused on childhood memories and the concept of loss. 

"Lake Erie" acrylic on canvas 33"x42"

"What is Art?" is certainly too big of a question to ask here, but what do you hope your audience takes away from your art? What statement do you hope to make?

Art is an expression of existence. What it delivers to the viewer is an opportunity to view their own world in a new, unique way. Art, whether it be film, dance, or visual, provides an escape from daily life. In my own work, I really enjoy individual interpretations. Personally, I don't feel it necessary for the viewer to understand my intentions for creating a specific piece.  My only goal is to create work that engages and connects with the viewer. I love the process of painting and creating and to share my energy with the viewer is very satisfying. 

What was the best advice given to you as an artist? 

I think the best advice is that you need to work hard. An art professor of mine once told me that if you work long enough, eventually people will pay attention. 

"Cathedral of Seville, Corpus Christi"  lithography & screenprint  28" x 33" 

Tell me about your work space and your creative process.

I live in an artists' cooperative in St. Paul. The benefit of this is that the spaces are large enough to have a painting studio. My painting studio is actually in my bedroom. My easel is always set up, as well as my paints and drawing supplies. Before I begin a piece, I usually do preliminary sketches to lay out the composition. I always have the idea first before starting a work, and never approach the canvas blindly. The excitement is the process and the problem solving along the way.  The goal is to unify the piece and there are always surprises and difficulties.  I think the challenges of creating, and the intense focus during the process is what keeps me going. 

Who are some of the Minnesota artists you enjoy?

Eleanor McGough http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=96594

Carolyn Swiszcz   http://www.carolynswiszcz.com/

Rod Massey  http://www.rodmassey.com/index.html

James Boyd Brent  http://www.jamesboydbrent.com/?page_id=22

Barbara Kreft   http://www.circagallery.org/html/kreft_barbara_1.html

Gregory Graham   http://gregorygrahamart.com/gregorygrahamart.com/Home.html

If I were to follow you around to see art in Minnesota, which places would we go? What would we see?

Highpoint Center for Printmaking  http://www.highpointprintmaking.org/home/

Minneapolis Institute of the Arts   http://www.artsmia.org/

Walker Art Center   http://www.walkerart.org/

Groveland Gallery   http://www.grovelandgallery.com/

The Museum of Russian Art  http://tmora.org/

"101810 Lake Erie" watercolor  18" x 24"

Where do you go online for good art resources, whether to find a new artist, or to see what is going on in the art world locally and otherwise?

Mnartists.org    http://www.mnartists.org/home.do

Local Artists Interviews   http://www.local-artist-interviews.com/

Art Hounds  http://minnesota.publicradio.org/projects/ongoing/art-hounds/

Art 21   http://www.pbs.org/art21/

Res Artis    http://www.resartis.org/en/

"Biking in the Rain, S.C." acrylic on canvas  32" x 34"

What can we expect to see from you in the future?
Currently, I am in a group show entitled "New Year, New Artists" at Groveland Gallery in Minneapolis. This show, featuring four new paintings, runs until February 25th, 2012.

Groveland Gallery

I am also working on book illustrations for "The Book of Bartholomew" by Mark Granlund and in March, I  will also be hosting a demonstration on creating Pysanky, traditional Ukrainian Easter Egg dyeing. This event is open to the public and will be held  at Wet Paint art supply store.  

James Dankert - Painter

Interns Rown

James Dankert

SpotArt Gallery Featured Interview

James Dankert
Saint Paul MN
Email: jamesdankert@msn.com
Website: www.jamesdankert.com
MNartist.org profile

Bio~

I’m a visual artist and musician who resides in Saint Paul, MN.

Tell me about your work? What are you currently working on? How is this different from past projects?
I paint mostly with acrylics, sometimes with oil, and the “through line” of the last 4 years of my work is the human form. As for style, I’m primarily interested in lines and hard-edged, flat areas of color. My work doesn’t present much in the way of painterly brushwork or illusions of volume, shadow, and light. I’m constantly engaged in the process of discovering my strongest interests and paring down my imagery to include only those interests.

Currently I’ve been working on a series of flat, nude human forms against black backgrounds, taking equal parts inspiration from Attic vase painting and from the paintings of John Wesley. My previous project was a series of office scenes depicting employees in anonymous office spaces. While I started this series with the idea of painting the office as psychological landscape, as I worked through the images, I discovered my deeper interest in the form and framing of the human figures within these scenes. My current series of nudes sheds reference to a physical context and presents the contours of flat human forms interrupted by the edge of the support.

Filing

"What is Art?" is certainly too big of a question to ask here, but what do you hope your audience takes away from your art? What statement do you hope to make?
I hope that my most successful paintings would support a variety of readings, I don’t feel like my paintings are vessels for meaning. That said, I can note what I’m thinking about when I paint. My first hope is that an audience would perceive a certain deadpan humor in my imagery, an eye for blunt and blank moments. In my office series, I’m trying to paint minimally expressive images that capture unremarkable moments of the work day in an office. As for my current series, I think of the imagery as a playful embrace of a non-spiritual, body-centered worldview.

What was the best advice given to you as an artist?
Get out and see as much art as you can and, whenever possible, join the conversation at openings and exhibitions. I don’t follow this advice half as well as I should, but it seems like good advice.

Tell me about your working space and your creative process?
My workspace is cramped and uncomfortable. Whatever painting I’m working on is the eye of a hurricane of clutter and disorganization. If my space were too pleasant, I’m afraid I might just hang out and get nothing done. It’s in an old laboratory building, which I figure is an auspicious place to make art. My paintings start as quick pencil sketches made mostly while I’m sitting around home watching tv, without the use of models. The sketch transferred to the support provides a starting point, then I work out the rest of the image while I’m painting. The most difficult part of my creative process is trying to remain open, not to self-censor myself too severely during the early image-making process.

Conversation in Cube

Who are some of the Minnesota artists you enjoy?

Some (there are so many):
Jennifer Davis - http://www.jenniferdavisart.com/
Michael Thomsen - http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=158290
Gregory J Rose - http://www.secretsofthecity.com/secrets/view/sunday-slideshow-studio-visit-with-gregory-rose
Corey McNally - http://www.local-artist-interviews.com/2010/08/corey-mcnally-abstract-painter-and.html
Clinton Rost - http://clintonrost.com/
Ray Becoskie - http://www.becoskie.com/
Gregory Graham - http://www.gregorygrahamart.com/

If I were to follow you around to see art in Minnesota, which places would we go? What would we see?

I love the MIA. Right now, if you went with me, we’d see the Titian exhibition (I haven’t been yet—I need to get off the stick!). Northeast Minneapolis and Saint Paul’s Lowertown are areas I find myself returning to often to look at art during gallery openings and in artists’ studios when they’re open. I also like to see what’s happening at Gallery 13 in downtown Minneapolis.

We’d see everything we could. Since I’m a painter, we’d certainly look at paintings. Beyond that, I don’t have much of an art agenda. I’m curious about most approaches and I linger on whatever strikes me. I almost always find something interesting or instructive in the works I see.

Copy Room

Where do you go online for good art resources, whether to find a new artist, or to see what is going on in the art world locally and otherwise?

Locally:
www.mnartists.org
www.mplsart.com
Lowertown First Fridays
Local Artist Interviews (Facebook)

Otherwise:
http://nymag.com/tags/ask%20an%20art%20critic
http://edwardwinkleman.blogspot.com/
http://joannemattera.blogspot.com/
http://www.twocoatsofpaint.com/

Do you have any exhibits to promote in the near future?
Currently, I have a painting up in the “Flesh and Form” exhibition on view at Altered Esthetics through April 21:

Lunch

In May, I’ll have paintings on view at SpotArt gallery for the “SpotAwhirl” show opening on May 20 AND May 21, 2011 http://spotart.org/ .

Rochester Art Center