James Mroczkowski
(1950–)
James Mroczkowski
1950–
James Albert Mroczkowski (1950– ), also known as Jim Mroczkowski, is a Canadian painter from Windsor, ON. His paintings and drawings are autobiographical self-portraits that are developed intuitively, blending careful design, decision making, and order with chaos, chance, and foolishness. While his work is deeply personal, it can be read in many ways, allowing viewers to extract their own personal readings.
Mroczkowski began painting at the age of five while his mother was recovering from post-partum depression. After noticing a painting by the young Mroczkowski, his mother’s doctor gifted him some painting materials and instructed him to paint pictures to help his mother feel better. This experience had a lasting impact on Mroczkowsi, and he continues to believe in the ability of art to heal the human spirit and to communicate ideas, feelings, and thoughts.
In 1970, Mroczkowski moved to Toronto and began his formal art training in the Foundations program at the Ontario College of Art. In 1971, he returned to Windsor to begin a Bachelor of Fine Art at the University of Windsor. After graduating in 1974, he returned to Toronto to obtain a Master of Fine Art at York University, where he studied under Kenneth Lochhead, Doug Morton, and Vera Frankel. Taking an interest in art education as a way to support himself, Mroczkiwski returned to Windsor, and, from 1976 to 1977, he obtained a Bachelor of Education while working as an art instructor at Essex County RCSSB. He also obtained a Master of Education in 1984.
After completing his studies, Mroczkowski moved to North Bay in 1980 to take a position as a professor of art and art education at the University of Nipissing. He worked in Nipissing until his retirement in 2006. While in North Bay, he also taught life-drawing at Canadore College and he was a member of the board of directors at White Water Gallery and the North Bay Arts Centre (now the Capital Centre). Upon his retirement, he returned to Windsor and continued to be involved in the art and education communities, serving as a member of the Public Art Advisory Committee, working as a practicum advisor in the Windsor area for Nipissing University, and teaching courses at the University of Windsor.
Mroczkowski’s work is centered on the personal rather than the local. His mixed media drawings and paintings take their inspiration from old books. Choosing a page at random, Mroczkowski will select a word or phrase that speaks to him. After contemplating the text, he then works intuitively to create largescale compositions that speak to the context of the phrase. His final works draw on his personal experience and uses a language of symbols that he has developed throughout his career. He also often includes collaged art historical references, putting his work in dialogue with the history of art and its development into the future. Overall, his work aims to engage the viewer in a way that is both visually and intellectually stimulating. His paintings and drawings have been exhibited in a number of solo exhibitions throughout Ontario, and he has received numerous grants to support his artistic practice.