New show by nationally acclaimed artist

By Jamie Adam

A new art exhibition by a nationally acclaimed artist is appearing at Artspeak Gallery Oct. 13-20.

Jim Mroczkowski, 62, was born and raised in Windsor. He is the first born of five children and has three children of his own. He has had his art exhibited in over 15 solo exhibitions from Toronto, Windsor, Vancouver and North Bay, Ont. He has also been featured in over 50 group exhibitions across Canada.

Mroczkowski describes himself as a mixed media artist. He flips open old books at random and selects a passage that catches his eye. He said he ponders the meaning of the passage and why it caught his eye and forms his ideas.

Most of his work contains signs, symbols and silhouettes along with other signature forms such as grids, geometric shapes, scribbles and cursive writing. He said the original passage from the book is always adhered to the surface of the work and becomes the title.

“I think it’s more of a compulsion than anything else. It’s something I always had to do even when I was young. If I had a piece of paper in front of me with a pencil I was always drawing. It was just something I did naturally,” said Mroczkowski.

The artist works with his wife, Nancy Creighton, who helps him set up his shows. Creighton also helps patrons by describing the stories behind his works of art and acting as inspiration or motivation for some pieces.

“His work is based on intellect, a knowledge of art, colour and form,” said Creighton.

Mroczkowski has won multiple awards and commissions, 12 of which are Ontario Arts Council Exhibition and Material Assistance Grants. He won first prize for painting at the tenth annual Northern Ontario NORART juried exhibition.

Most of the pieces in the show are priced at $750 but range from $300 to $1,500.

Ashley Hynd is a student at University of Toronto, writer and amateur artist who attended the reception.

“I think some of it is really nice and thought-provoking,” said Hynd. “Some of the pieces are really, really intellectual.”

His wife said she was pleased with the turnout at the reception.