Paul Chojnowski

I have been burning images into wood and paper as a means of drawing for over two decades. During that time I have continued refining and experimenting with the process. Using propane torches I burn, scorch, re-burn, sand and scratch the surface of paper or wood to create my drawings.

My current work, includes the ongoing Nocturne Series, inspired by walking at night in American cities; those drawings, primarily on paper, resemble soft focus sepia toned photographs. My most recent series of drawings began in early 2019 with my 12x12Project - creating twelve 12 inch square landscapes on Baltic Birch plywood, inspired by hiking and backcountry skiing in the in the local mountains. The latter is quite different from the former in regard to content, execution and appearance - from those dark, abstracted cityscapes, my current drawings are light filled, clearly rendered landscapes.

The burning process I use to make my drawings evolved differently for each series. Experimentation was and remains important to me and always informs the resulting image. In the case of the Nocturnes the image arose from intermixing water on the paper with the flame from a large industrial torch. With these new works, I’ve relied upon an accumulation of often calligraphic marks on the wood surface using the minuscule flame from a jeweler’s torch. The myriad of marks and the wood grain ca suggest the treetop leaves, the forest floor or drifting snow - in short, the illusion of space and light in the natural world.

When not in the studio, I split my time between trips to New York, Boston and rural New England where I live and work.

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Solo Exhibitions

2020 Landscapes from the 12x12Project, George Billis Gallery, New York

2016 Infrastructure Series, Bright Ideas Brewing, North Adams, MA

2016 Paper, Plywood & Light, Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, NY

2015 New & Selected Work, Gilchrist Museum of the Arts, Cumberland, MD

2013 Fire Drawings, James E. Winner Jr. Arts Culture Center, Sharon, PA

2012 NIGHT I LIGHT, James Gallery, Pittsburgh

2011 Searchlights & other works Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, NY

2008 Town and Country, Hubert Gallery, New York

Selected Work, Mason Murer Fine Art, Atlanta

2007 Natural and Unnatural Disasters, Kidder Smith Gallery, Boston

2005 More Pictures About Buildings and Food, Naoussa Gallery, Tyringham, MA

2004 New Work, Jeffrey Coploff Fine Art Ltd, New York

New Work, PLUM Gallery, Williamstown, MA

Nudes and Nocturnes, Smart Duval Gallery, Aspen

2003 Threadlines, Naoussa Gallery, Tyringham, MA collaborations Scott Sandell

2002 Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport Atrium Gallery

2001 Revealed by Fire, Bridgewater/Lustberg & Blumenfeld Gallery, New York

and Macon & Co. Fine Art, Atlanta

2000 Jan Cicero Gallery, Chicago

Spencertown Academy, Spencertown, NY

Macon & Co. Fine Art, Atlanta

1999 Bridgewater/Lustberg & Blumenfeld Gallery, New York

1997 Macon & Co. Fine Art, Atlanta

1996 Chattahoochee Valley Art Museum, LaGrange, GA

1995 AGIARY, Macon & Co. Fine Art, Atlanta, collaboration with Kevin Haller

Albany Museum of Art, Albany, GA, collaboration with Kevin Haller

1993 New Work, Macon & Co. Fine Art, Atlanta

Berkshire Artisans Gallery, Lichtenstein Center for the Arts, Pittsfield, MA

1991 Butters Gallery, Portland, OR

1989 Butters Gallery, Portland, OR

Group Exhibitions

2020 Drawing Discourse, Holden Gallery, University of North Carolina, Asheville

William Beckman, Juror

2019 Multiplicity, James Gallery, Pittsburgh

Massachusetts Cultural Council Drawing & Printmaking Fellowship Exhibition, T. B. A.

2018 Landscapes: Capturing the View, Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, NY

2016 The 99 Cent Affordable Art Show, Gallery 51, North Adams, MA

IS 183 Faculty Show, Williamstown, MA

2015 WAVELENGTH: THE ART OF LIGHT, University of Arizona Art

Museum, Tucson, AZ

2015 Fresh Paint, Berkshire Artist Museum, North Adams, MA

Fence Select, Arts Center of the Capital District, Troy, NY

2015 CITYSCAPES, Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, NY

2014 Figuring In, Rudd Art Museum, North Adams MA

2013 SUBurban, SMART CLOTHES Gallery, New York

illuminators, OK Harris Works of Art, New York

The Abstracted City, Hubert Gallery, New York

2012 WORKS ON PAPER, Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, NY

2011 BLACK & WHITE, Dolby Chadwick Gallery, San Francisco

2010 Pulp Friction, James Gallery, Pittsburgh

Painted City, Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, NY

2009 Great Pretenders: An Exhibit of Art Fakery, Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson

2008 Turn and Burn, The Gilchrist Gallery, Cumberland, MD

2006 New Visions, The Harrison Gallery, Williamstown, MA

2005 NEW AMERICAN TALENT the twentieth exhibition, curated by Dan

Cameron, Arthouse, Austin, TX

Berkshire Biennale, The Contemporary Artists Center, North Adams, MA

The City, Contemporary View of the Built Environment, Lehman College,

Savoir Affair, Nemacolin Woodlands, Farmington, PA

Mapped, from here to there, Margaret Thatcher Projects, NY

2004Night New York, Elizabeth Harris Gallery, NY

UNnatural, Full Spectrum Gallery, Lakewood, NJ

2003 flicker, Jeffrey Coploff Fine Art, New York

FLORA, Plum Gallery, Williamstown, MA

Painted City, Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, NY

2002 Hot Art: Burning Images, Paul Chojnowski, John Cage and Andrew Bennett

University of Arizona Museum of Art, Tucson

ON THE MOVE: Transportation Imagery in Art, Swan Coach Gallery,

Atlanta

FIREWORKS, 55 Mercer Gallery, New York

Fire, KGA Compound, Houston

2001 BURN: Artists Play with Fire, Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach

1999 Westside Inaugural Exhibition, Macon & Company Fine Art, Atlanta

1998 Ink Jet, Contemporary Artists Center, North Adams, MA

Earthly Visions, Jan Cicero Gallery, Chicago, IL

1998 National Juried Exhibition, No BIAS Gallery, Bennington, VT

1997 National Endowment for the Arts Visual Arts/Southern Arts Federation Fellowship Exhibition, Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, Winston-Salem, NC

1997 New Artists, a baker’s dozen, Spazi Contemporary Art, Housatonic, MA

Naked Landscape, Spazi Contemporary Art, Housatonic, MA

New Prints, Jan Cicero Gallery, Chicago, IL

Berkshire Photography, Contemporary Artists Center, North Adams, MA

Figure 8, Spruill Center for the Arts, Atlanta

1996 17 Days of Olympic Art, Hartsfield International Airport, Atlanta

Texaco Olympic Art Exhibition, King Plow Art Center, Atlanta

1996 New American Talent, Austin Museum of Art, Austin, TX

New Prints, Jan Cicero Gallery, Chicago, IL

1995 Revival of the Figure, City Gallery East, Atlanta

Vantage Point-Abstraction, Jan Cicero Gallery, Chicago, IL

1994 Brenau University National Invitational, Gainesville, GA

Art in Motion, Richards and Westbrook Galleries, Georgia

Institute of Technology, Atlanta

1992 Printmakers, Jan Cicero Gallery, Chicago, IL

Works on Paper, Trinity Gallery, Atlanta, GA

1991 Naked People Show, 800 EAST, Atlanta, GA

LaGrange National XVI, Chattahoochee Valley Art Museum, LaGrange, GA

Dwight Merrimon Davidson Print Exhibition, Elon College, Elon, NC

1990 Artists in Georgia, Albany Museum of Art, Albany, GA

1987 eARTh, Novus Gallery, Atlanta, GA

Grants, Awards and Commissions

2020 Artist -in- Residence, Shenandoah National Park, Luray, Virginia

2018 Fellowship Recipient in Drawing, Massachusetts Cultural Council

The Four Seasons, four 60” x 40” panels in the lobby of Wyndham Bentley Brook, Hancock MA

2009 Work selected for the set of a feature film by Nancy Meyers

2006 Work selected for the set of No Reservations, a feature film by Scott Hicks

2004 Emerging Artist, selected for publication in Art & Antiques Magazine

1998 Artist’s Resource Trust, Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation

1996 Visual Art Fellowship, National Endowment for the Arts and

the Southern Arts Federation

Award of Recognition, Contemporary Artists Center, North Adams, MA

17 Days of Olympic Art, City of Atlanta, Bureau of Cultural Affairs

1994 Alternate Visions, National Endowment for the Arts with funding from the Rockefeller and Andy Warhol Foundations

Individual Artist Grant, Georgia Council for the Arts.

Selected Corporate Collections

Wyndham Resorts, Hancock, MADelta Airlines, Atlanta

Merrill Lynch, Raleigh, NCTucker Wayne, Atlanta

Koloa Hawaii, Inc., Honolulu, HIClorox, Oakland, CA

Barnett Bank, Jacksonville, FLKing & Spalding, Atlanta

Saks Fifth Avenue of AmericaKilpatrick, Stockton, LLP, Atlanta

Landmarks Group, AtlantaJohnson & Higgins, Los Angeles

Littler Mendelson, San FranciscoJones, Day, Reavis & Pogue, Chicago

First National Bank of Sycamore, ILTektronix, Incorporated, Portland, OR

Gilreath & Associates, Nashville, TNBruce & Associates, San Francisco

Gipson, Hoffman & Pancione, L. A.Rock and Leitz, PC, Atlanta

Fannie Mae, AtlantaUnion Camp Corporation, Atlanta

Lewis Clark & Graham, AtlantaSietro, Woodland Hills, CA

Hunton and Williams, AtlantaShimizu, Incorporated, Atlanta

Snea Lauben, San FranciscoSouthernet, Atlanta

USAA Insurance Company, Tampa, FLIXIS Asset Management, Boston

Atlanta Gas Light Company, AtlantaHalstead Industries, Greensboro, NC

Spectrum Equity Investors, BostonWeil, Gotshal & Manges, Boston

Endurance Specialty InsuranceCaldwell, Heggie & Helton, Chattanooga

Hamilton, Bermuda

Selected Public Collections

University of Arizona Museum of Art, Tucson

Hartsfield International Airport, Atlanta

Education

B.A., Hobart College, Geneva, NY

Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City