JASON KOWALSKI RURAL GRANDEUR
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Jason Kowalski Rural Grandeur
October 8 - November 13
Railyard Arts District | 1613 Paseo de Peralta | Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501 | 505.988.3250 www.lewallengalleries.com | contact@lewallengalleries.com cover: Casual Conversation, 2021, Oil and mixed media on panel, 16" x 16"
Jason Kowalski | Rural Grandeur Jason Kowalski is regarded for his reverential images of the American built landscape of the mid-20th century that he paints as it exists today: old bowling alleys, motels and their fading marquee signs, antique automobiles, abandoned filling stations, and sun-bleached roadside eateries. All are painted by Kowalski with meticulous realism and remarkable, unflinching detail, choosing not to shy away from evidence of the passage of time. Instead, Kowalski conveys his subjects with a sense of veneration, drawing on memory and nostalgia to invoke the stories and romantic associations that we might have with the past. His eye for the beauty that is often overlooked creates in his work a true American verité of a time past, but one that still lingers in the contemporary imagination. Hidden within the mottled textures of Kowalski’s paintings is a trove of collaged materials—handwritten notes, newspaper clippings, faded photographs, vintage postcards, and other ephemera. For Kowalski, these found materials act both as elements of composition and as conduits for allusive or poetic meaning. When taken alongside his subjects, the element of collage invites the viewer to consider further the richness of history—as well as the properties of memory, which helps to bridge the present with the past. Rather than memento mori, Kowalski’s scenes of the highway towns and rural communities of the American countryside evoke a spirit of resilience even as his architectural subjects erode and transform with age. According to Kowalski, “There is beauty in the undone, the abandoned...” and his affectionate treatment of these nearly forgotten places gestures toward our shared sense of American memory. In so doing, his art also appeals to our sense of nostalgia—a feeling that hinges on both memory and our ability to form a sense of story. Jason Kowalski was born in Boynton Beach, Florida but spent most of his childhood in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Art from the Laguna College of Art and Design in 2009. His work has been the subject of numerous exhibitions and publications across the United States.
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Trading Post, 2021 Oil and mixed media on panel, 24" x 12" 3
Prairie Boxcar, 2021 Oil and mixed media on panel, 18" x 24" 4
Allen's Garage, 2021 Oil and mixed media on panel, 24" x 30" 5
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Blue Spruce Lodge, 2020 Oil and mixed media on panel, 28" x 42" 7
Motel Capri, 2021 Oil and mixed media on panel, 40" x 40" 8
El Bambi, 2021 Oil and mixed media on panel, 48" x 48" 9
Rest Easy, 2021 Oil and mixed media on panel, 18" x 24" 10
Curve Motel, 2020 Oil and mixed media on panel, 32" x 12" 11
Rural Recreation, 2021 Oil and mixed media on panel, 22" x 36" 12
Hometown Accomodation, 2021 Oil and mixed media on panel, 36" x 36" 13
Wind-worn Traveler, 2021 Oil and mixed media on panel, 16" x 16" 14
Big Piney Motel, 2020 Oil and mixed media on panel, 32" x 12" 15
Jason Kowalski Born: Boynton Beach, Florida, 1986 Education: 2009 Laguna College of Art and Design, Laguna Beach, CA Selected Solo Exhibitions: 2021 LewAllen Galleries, Santa Fe, NM 2020 J. Willott Gallery, Palm Desert, CA 2019 J. Willott Gallery, Palm Desert, CA 2018 Somewhere in America, J. Willott Gallery, Palm Desert, CA 2017 Vintage, Sue Greenwood Fine Art, Laguna Beach, CA 2015 Affectionately American, Sue Greenwood Fine Art, Laguna Beach, CA 2014 Sue Greenwood Fine Art, Laguna Beach, CA 2012 Sue Greenwood Fine Art, Laguna Beach, CA 2011 A Popular Vacation Spot, Terry Martin Gallery, Santa Monica, CA 2010 Jason Kowalski, Terrence Rogers Fine Art, Santa Monica, CA 2009 Introducing Jason Kowalski, Terrence Rogers Fine Art, Santa Monica, CA Selected Group Exhibitions: 2020 Sue Greenwood Fine Art, Laguna Beach, CA 2019 LCAD Collector’s Choice Featured Artist, Montage Resort, Laguna Beach, CA J. Willott Gallery, Palm Desert, CA Curiosities of American Culture, Sue Greenwood Fine Art, Laguna Beach, CA 2018 28th Annual Miniatures Show, Abend Gallery, Denver, CO LCAD Collector’s Choice Featured Artist, Montage Resort, Laguna Beach, CA
2017 2016 2015 2014
Sue Greenwood Fine Art, Laguna Beach, CA LCAD Collector’s Choice Featured Artist, Montage Resort, Laguna Beach, CA California Cool, Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA Celebrate Art, Sue Greenwood Fine Art, Laguna Beach, CA Holiday Miniatures Show, Abend Gallery, Denver, CO Ongoing Group Exhibition, J. Wilott Gallery, Palm Desert, CA Chill, Sue Greenwood Fine Art, Laguna Beach, CA Landscape Group Exhibition, Abend Gallery, Denver, CO California Cool, Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA 25th Annual Holiday Miniatures Show, Abend Gallery, Denver, CO LCAD Collector’s Choice Auction, Montage Resort, Laguna Beach, CA Ongoing Group Exhibition, J. Willott Gallery, Palm Desert, CA Wish You Were Here, Sue Greenwood Fine Art, Laguna Beach, CA Pictures from a Trip, Groveland Gallery, Minneapolis MN California Cool, Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA ROADTRIP, Sue Greenwood Fine Art, Laguna Beach, CA Seen: A New Americana, Groveland Gallery, Minneapolis MN J. Willott Gallery, Palm Desert, CA Common Tread, William D. Cannon Art Gallery, San Diego, CA American Flashback, Sue Greenwood Fine Art, Laguna Beach, CA Time and America, J. Willott Gallery, Palm Desert, CA The Art of the Heist, Laguna Beach, CA 16
2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008
J. Willott Gallery, Palm Desert, CA Meyer Gallery, Park City, Utah Nothing But Blue Skies, Sue Greenwood Fine Art, Laguna Beach, CA Common Tread, CSUF Begovich Gallery, Fullertion, CA J. Willott Gallery, Palm Desert, CA Palette to Palate, Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA California Dreamin, Sue Greenwood Fine Art, April 5-30, Laguna Beach, CA Three Man Show, Meyer Fine Art, Park City, Utah J. Willott Gallery, Palm Desert, CA Swenson Fine Art, Laguna Beach, CA Meyer Fine Art, Park City, Utah Gallery 793, Laguna Beach, CA Hand Pressed, Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA The History of Flight, Terrence Rogers Fine Art, Santa Monica, CA Small Works Show, Swenson Fine Art, Laguna Beach, CA Terrence Rogers Fine Art, Palm Springs, CA Jackson Street Exhibition, Curated by Scape Gallery, San Francisco, CA LCAD Group Exhibition, Gallery 793, Laguna Beach, CA Senior Fine Art Exhibition, 7 Degrees Gallery, Laguna Beach CA Grapes for Grads Guest Artist, Laguna Beach, CA Best of the Best, Laguna College of Art and Design Exhibition, Laguna Beach, CA Urban Ambiance Exhibition, Long Beach Arts Association, Long Beach, CA Laguna College of Art and Design Summer Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA Best of the Best, Laguna College of Art and Design Juried Exhibition, Laguna Beach, CA
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Railyard Arts District | 1613 Paseo de Peralta | Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501 | 505.988.3250 www.lewallengalleries.com | contact@lewallengalleries.com © 2021 LewAllen Contemporary, LLC 18 Artwork © Jason Kowalski