FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 9, 2011
Contact: Anika Mitchell Perkins
(662) 329-7124
aperkins@pa.muw.edu
Nawrocki’s retrospective show at MUW spans almost 50 years
COLUMBUS, Miss. – Fresh from a sabbatical, Thomas Nawrocki wasted no time jumping into the fall semester at Mississippi University for Women.
The professor of art’s one-person exhibit opened this month and will run through Sept. 26. A reception, which is free and open to the public, will be held Wednesday, Sept. 14 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Eugenia Summer Gallery on campus.
More than 100 pieces, ranging from 1963 to present, are a part of the show including fiber space hangings, woven wall hangings, black light illuminated photographs, mixed media prints, litographs, intaglio prints and much more.
“It’s like viewing a timeline,” Nawrocki said about the show. “So, I am learning a little bit too.”
His mixed media print compositions are unique to the printmaking process. He explained that in eastern cultures, odd numbers are considered masculine and even numbers feminine.
“Thus, I am combining both male and female qualities within the same image.” Zinc u-shaped metal is the framing material sandwiching the art composition achieved on moiré or honeycomb plastic between two sheets of Plexiglas. The shapes are created using both straight and curved metal.
Nawrocki describes himself as the “only printmaker in the world with curves.”
His work has been in approximately 500 shows and currently on display in Meridian; Philadelphia, Pa.; Johnson City, Tenn.; Glendale, Calif.; New York, Croatia, Bulgaria and London.
Alex Stelioes Wills, gallery director, said about Nawrocki and his work, “This is a great celebration. He is the most defining member of the art department. This is such a great teaching tool for our students. Everything he does is incredibly complicated.”
The Eugenia Summer Gallery is located on the southwest corner of the MUW campus, directly east of the Stark Recreation Center. The gallery is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.
