1: Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background in the arts.
I grew up in the Worcester area of Massachusetts and went on to get my BFA at Umass Lowell. From there I moved to Boston and received an MFA in 2D from MassArt in 2017. A little less than a year later, things started to pick up and I started traveling back and forth to North Iceland for some residencies and also moved to Brooklyn. I have a live/work loft space in the North Brooklyn Industrial Zone / Bushwick area.
2: What kind of work are you currently making?
I work on multiple series at once and usually work in oil paint or on paper with different printmaking techniques and collage elements. Right now, I’m making mostly oil paintings. Most are small, about head size 11” x 14”. Currently, I’m making work that explores narratives about cycles, transformation, and interaction in the landscape. Urns, arched doorways, and other containers are sometimes used as surrogates for the figure.
3: What is a day like in the studio for you?
I usually sit down with coffee and start my day in the studio drawing. I make drawings of geometric shapes and deconstruct them in my sketchbook. I have a lot of sketchbooks. Then I measure them out to paint and start mixing color. Sometimes I can complete a painting in one session but usually the textures I’m making take far more time. A lot of my work is built in layers and so I usually write notes for myself to come in and see- then I can get straight to work. I usually end my day by making a few drawings as well.
4: What are you looking at right now and/or reading?
Currently, I’m reading, “Woman at 1,000 degrees” by Hallgrímur Helgason. I’ve had the opportunity to work in Iceland on a number of occasions on residencies and I’m very influenced by the landscape and stories there. As far as looking at art, I’ve been looking at Rene Magritte’s paintings of broken windows a lot, and also some of Robert Smithson's interior, corner mirror works.
5: Where can we find more of your work?
You can find my work on Instagram at @jess_tawczynski or on my website at www.JessicaTawczynski.com
Currently, one of my paper works (that is also my first performance-based drawing piece!) is on view in “A Quiet Stand” at the Forsberg Gallery, Rose Center for the Arts at Lower Columbia College in Longview, WA, curated by Jennie Castle. And I’ll also be included in a show coming up at Amos Eno Gallery in Brooklyn called “Where’er His Silent Beams Intrude” based on a Henry David Thoreau poem, and curated by Audra Lambert.
