Ann Orlowski

medium: painting

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Overpass V 2007 Painting	Overpass IV 2007 Painting	Overpass II 2007 Painting
One Step Ahead 2008 Painting	Your Low Price Leader 2008 Painting	Big Sky Drive 2007 Painting
Stone City 2007 Painting	It's All Inside 2007 Painting	What the Future Has in Store 2008 Painting
Tomorrow is Already Here 2008 Painting

Contact information
Artist resides in: Madison, WI
Email Address: ann_orlowski@yahoo.com

Artist statement
The American Regionalist movement of the 1930s set out to depict life as seen through the eyes of the rural Midwest painter, a nostalgic look at the pre-industrial landscape. These artists portrayed an idealistic view of the world they lived in, beautiful rolling hills and quiet depictions of small town life. In contrast my work presents a much different view of life in the Midwest. I seek to depict the unavoidable impact our modern way of life bears on the world around us. I’m taking an intentional look at the industrial age, as it paves a path through the countryside. Rather than deny the influence humans have on the land, I work with that influence; exploring how beauty can still be found in a landscape covered by strip malls and highways.

This new examination is still romantic in nature but the subject matter has changed dramatically. Even the smallest rural towns begin to spread out, bigger houses with bigger yards, built up next to bigger parking lots leading up to our super mega convenience stores. All connected by widening highways, to carry us from one nondescript place to another. This is the landscape I see growing and maturing before us. An environment with meticulous rows of trees, and small patches of well manicured grass surrounded by a sea of pavement. Buildings stretch on and on across the horizon. I think of this body of work as the "Modern American landscape," with plenty of parking.

Biography
After graduating with a BFA from the University of Northern Iowa, I made my way to Madison. Following a year of graduate study in printmaking at the University of Wisconsin, I found myself involved with a local art collective, ARTbite. Shifting my focus from printmaking to painting, I began to set focus on the ideas and themes seen now in my work. Some of my recent exhibitions include:

--Texture of the Landscape. Promega Spring Exhibition, Fitchburg, Wis.

--Nocturne. Artisan Gallery, Paoli, Wis.

--The Book as Art. Madison, Wis. (co-organized and directed)

--Art-O-Whirl. Minneapolis open studio weekend.

--Emerging Talent. Artisan Gallery, Paoli, Wis.

--ARTbite Presents. Madison, Wis.

I am currently represented by the Artisan Gallery, Paoli, Wis.