With its proximity to the cultural hub of New York City and its quieter suburban and rural landscapes, Connecticut was fertile ground for artists and writers in the period of Modernist movements between 1913 and 1979. Many of these cultural figures are well known through biographical and critical studies. Creative Places seeks to show how place played a significant role in creative work, and how in turn the artists and writers influenced communities in Connecticut.
Paul Zelanski
Painting/Drawing, Sculpture
1931 –
MAAd Men of Mystic was an exhibition at the Mystic Art Center in 2014, featuring three artists; John Gregoropoulos, Anthony Terenzio, and Paul Zelanski, whose abstract art, while gaining national and international recognition, was also exhibited at MAC and in the region during the 1950s and 60s. In an era when MAC was known as the Mystic Art Association, abstract art began to appear in galleries, offering a change from the strong traditions of representative art in the shoreline art colonies.
- Biography/Description of Work
Paul Zelanski (1931- ) was born in Hartford, Connecticut. When he was 10, his sister saved up and gave him an oil paint set — the most memorable and important present of his life to that point, as his early life was during the Great Depression. He attended Hartford High School, and was the first resident of Connecticut’s capitol city to be accepted to the Cooper Union School of Art. College was interrupted by two years spent in the Army during the Korean War, but Paul returned and finished in 1955. Paul Zelanski went on to study under Josef Albers at Yale University. It was here that Paul began his life-long passion for color theory. When Paul finished his BFA at Yale in 1957, on recommendation from Albers, he attended Bowling Green State University for a master’s degree in painting. Always knowing that he wanted to be an educator, after finishing school he taught at North Texas State University from 1958–62, and then moved north to teach at the University of Connecticut, where he would remain until his retirement in 1995. Paul continues to make collages every day in his studio in Connecticut. Paul married artist Annette Zelanski in 1965 and they had three children together.
- Sources view
- http://www.paulzelanski.com/
http://mysticarts.org/entry/maad-men-of-mystic/ - Associated Resource(s)