THOMAS NOZKOWSKI

Thomas Nozkowski (b. 1944) is an American painter known for his small-scale abstractions that often resemble biomorphic forms. Referencing colors and objects found in daily life, Nozkowski creates highly idiosyncratic works with affinities to artists as varied as Arthur Dove, Elizabeth Murray, and Raoul De Keyser. Born in Teaneck, NJ, Nozkowski spent his youth in the suburbs, admiring the bohemian culture of New York from afar before moving there in 1961. While earning his BFA at Cooper Union, Nozkowski shifted from making sculpture to painting during the heyday of Conceptual Art in the late 1960s. By 1979, he had found an audience for his work in New York. Through a number of solo exhibitions at 55 Mercer Gallery and Rose Esman Gallery in the 1980s, along with The Museum of Modern Art acquiring his work in 1982, his reputation for creating evocative drawings, prints, and paintings were solidified. Nozkowski's long and prolific career is dotted with achievements such as a 1993 Guggenheim Fellowship for Creative Arts, and a 1999 award for painting from The American Academy of Arts and Letters. His works are in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, among others. Nozkowski currently lives and works between New York, NY and High Falls, NY.