July 7th – September 4th 2025
Artists’ Reception: Wednesday, July 9th 6-8 pm
with Brief Gallery Talks at 7pm
From organic robots to abstracted acrylic landscapes to portraiture, this ‘Group of Three’ painters all use watermedia in unique ways. Kwolek’s portraits combine acrylic, collage and line work to give expression, character and depth to each subject, while science is the springboard for Filarski’s organic robot series. Learn more about these and Donovan’s abstract landscapes, at the reception on Wednesday, July 9th from 6-8 pm, with brief artists’ talks at 7pm. The exhibit is open during library hours.
Jan Filarski
Robot Art Statement
KNOWLEDGE: A science program on TV told of an underwater tube worm who when agitated produced an enormous amount of white fibers. When these fibers were tested they were extremely strong in their ability to hold weight and were difficult to break. It was mentioned that if we could synthesize them, we could have clothing that would never wear out as well as improvements to many other items useful to mankind.
IDEA: What would a robot look like that could produce these fibers and how would it work?
DESIGN: I thought it would need to be simple. I gave it a pointy end and a rounded end. The pointy end would pierce and pull out materials or it could also inject them. The rounded end would store the materials for either procedure. The materials inside the robot would provide what was needed to start to spin these synthetic threads. These robots would need to have an antenae to receive their instructions. Then, somewhere in the painting whether large or small there needed to be a command strip sending out their orders. That is what you will find in these paintings.
NEXT: While producing these fibers was helping mankind, I thought these robots could REALLY help mankind. So they then helped clean up polluted water, oil spills, and nuclear waste. One painting might be uncomfortable to look at and shows the robots curing disease, maybe cancer. I also showed the programming needed by these robots in some paintings.
FUTURE: I think the next painting could use these robots to help solve
Susan Kwolek
My portrait series are created at live model group sessions. My goal is to use observation of the individual live models and translate that into my vision of the face.
The creative process involves observation of the model to create small pencil and ink sketches that record values, lines and facial characteristics.
I then observe the model again and create a simple line drawing using black fluid acrylic on gessoed paper. Then a collage of various black and white papers and window screen is applied to some areas. This step adds texture, pattern and value. Color is added with both transparent and opaque acrylic paint.
These steps are completed in one, three hour session. Later, when dry, a finishing coat of polyurethane is applied. The work is then mounted on a stretched canvas and and another final coat of polyurethane unifies the surface.
Chizuko Donovan
Born and raised in Japan until the age of thirteen. I developed an early love for sewing, which naturally led me to fiber arts and eventually to painting. My work is shaped by deep appreciation of color, texture and pattern. These elements, I began exploring through fabric and now are expressed on canvas. Inspired by complexity of nature, I seek to capture a sense of balance and harmony in compositions.
The Woods Gallery is located in the lower level of the Huntington Woods Library and is open during library hours.