TRIP: Tour of LeClaire & Des Moines April 5, 2019 –
Gene Gryniewicz is a self-taught artist. "Entirely self-taught," he cautions, "but learning more every day ... he has learned everything so far from comic books, his wife and Paul Reszel ... though not necessarily in that order. He is a storyteller, poet, illustrator and was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2005. He promptly quit writing and drawing, and blamed it on tremors, and an ungrounded fear of losing his balance ... but with a bucket full of words knocking around his head, after ten years, he decided to address his disease ... he retaught himself how, properly, to hold a pen, how to hunt and peck a keyboard with his left hand ... he taught himself colors. He taught himself to look for seams in his work, and how to re-align them. He claims, with delusions of literature, he hopes to trade on these twin 'defects' as far as he can carry them.
Included in this exhibit, are the personal collections of both Liz Cohn, Portland, Oregon and LuEllen Joy Giera, LaGrange Park, IL. Liz and LuEllen’s joint collection include about 3,000 Artist Playing Cards (APC’s) created by each artist themselves (solo), and the cards they created in collaboration with each other and with other artists all over the globe since 2010. Playing With a Full Deck V is the fifth exhibit of Artist Playing Cards. Many of these mini-collages have been added to the collection since the first exhibit.
The VVAC April gallery will feature Gene's work from April 3-28, 2019 with an opening reception on Friday, April 5 from 7-9pm. Light refreshments will be served.