Rose Szapszewicz Exhibit
March 14 @ 5:00 pm
The beauty of the Columbia River Gorge was like a siren for Rose Szapszewicz. Under its influence, her work, be it monotypes or sketches of nature, Can best be described as energy caught on paper. The images of the landscape she lives in is absorbed into her being and expressed in the work.
These one-of-a-kind monotypes are created with large rollers moving over paint applied to a metal plate. Rose works spontaneously, adding elements from nature to the process like flora, or water and from chemistry such as alcohol that create special effects in each print. The plate is run through a press several times until she is satisfied with the result. The nature of the surprise thrills her as she sees the colors and textures emerge on their own.
Opening Night Party: Thursday, March 14th, 5 – 7 pm. Free.
About the Artist
I was born in Lodz, Poland in 1949. At age 10, father moved us to the American Midwest, St. Louis, Missouri. Unable yet to speak English, a teacher handed me a bunch of paper and markers. It took away the boredom of the long hours in the new school I hadn’t experienced growing up in Poland where the school day was only half as long.
I studied art at the Pratt Institute then transferred to Cooper Union focusing on photography and painting. There, art faculty Jack Twarkov encouraged my imagination. I graduated with a B.F.A in 1971.
I spent about 8 years in N.Y.C. as a struggling artist before moving to Vermont where nature healed me and gave me a topic for my art until I put it all away for the next 15 years.
I had discovered the benefits of acupuncture in bringing me back to myself through the New England School of Acupuncture where I met pioneers of acupuncture from Portland, Oregon.
After moving to Portland, I got my license in acupuncture and began a practice that supported my spiritual quest even though it was off the Fine Arts path. After a lot of introspection, came the realization that without art I felt incomplete, like something had died in me. I picked up brushes again and took a class from Tom Prochaska at Pacific Northwest College of Art where I started doing monotypes. Eventually I met visiting Chinese artist Wang Gong Yi who mentored me for the next 15 years in Chinese Calligraphy and classical Chinese painting. This launched my practice by integrating Western and Eastern traditions which are evident in my work today.
