For artist Mike Scieszka, his latest show at Durango Arts Center is more than just a way to let people enjoy his work and sell some pieces – it’s a way to give to an important charity.
All proceeds from Scieszka’s show will go to the American Cancer Society.
The idea for the show was actually born from a show Scieszka was a part of right as the pandemic hit last year and everything shut down. He said he thought it would be a good idea to reinstall the pieces as everything began to reopen.
"It was all predicated on the show last February and March that we were running,“ he said. ”It’s sort of a cool way to bring closure to that show.”
Scieszka said the show is made up of a variety of paintings – and at first glance, it’s the color and sense of whimsy that strikes the eye.
“When I paint, I’ll get on sort of a focus. For instance, I did these integrations of women and trees dancing, or I may do a silly series of people dancing, there are some landscapes in there. I’ll do seven or eight paintings in a series,” he said, adding that there are three artists he really respects and thinks they have influence on his work. “One is M.C. Escher … he works in these wonderful spaces and his perspective is just phenomenal. The second is Dr. Seuss. Years ago, there was a show with a curator of Dr. Seuss, and I went to it – I always liked his work, but then I could see the depth of his work, and I just fell in love with the whimsy and the color and the shape. And then the third artist is Picasso – everybody steals from Picasso. (Laughs)”
And, Scieszka, color plays a vital role in his work. In fact, he said he studied color and understands its power to move people.
“I’ve been immersed in color theory – in fact, I have a color wheel here in my studio, so when I start my initial thoughts and plans for a series, I’ll go to my color wheel, I’ll work with my paints to come up with something that – one color complements or even conflicts with another color, how they’re set up on the palette and more importantly on the canvas,” he said. “Sometimes, it generates emotion, generates laughter, generates smiles, so I’ve always been a very strong believer in color theory. ... Color is an important component to what I do.”
There also seems to be a little nod and wink, a little sense of humor that comes through in his paintings.
“My tagline is ‘I want to make the 7-year-old in all of us smile.’ That’s how I try to approach my work,” he said.
katie@durangoherald.com
